Whatever　the　Weather
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Even before Hogwarts, Harry is aware that he can influence the weather. Will he be able to efficiently make use of this ability? Completely AU, partly OOC, rating because of possible character deaths (of death eaters), HP/HG (probably)
1. Chapter 1

**Whatever the Weather**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

Eight-year-old Harry Potter pulled his small baby blanket firmly over his head, knowing that the snow storm was going to commence now any second.

Since he could remember, he had been able to control the weather. While he usually liked sunshine, even if he did not get to see much of it in his small cupboard, as soon as he became really upset about something or someone, he used to make it rain. At first, it had not even been intentionally, however, by now it had become his small revenge to make rain or wind come up around the Dursleys' garden after a bad scolding or even a light beating by the hands of his relatives.

HP

On this evening, Aunt Petunia had hit him on the head with the hot frying pan because he had accidentally burned the sausages for the Dursleys' dinner. It was not as if he would have gotten to eat at least one of the sausages himself, however, he was the one to cook them, as usual. When he ended up holding his hurting head instead of apologizing and somehow remedying the matter - something that according to his uncle a freak had to be able to do - Uncle Vernon had shoved him into his cupboard, not caring that the child had not received anything for dinner.

"Tomorrow morning, Dudley, Uncle Vernon and I are going to go on holidays for three weeks," his aunt had informed him before closing the cupboard door. "I'll leave a list with your chores on the table."

"Yes," Harry had replied in understanding, holding his head in pain.

HP

_'They won't go on holidays in the morning,'_ he thought, grimly, when he heard the first thunder shake the house. Even if he could not see the snow from his cupboard, he knew that it was heavily snowing outside in spite of being the beginning of July. When he woke up in the morning, he could hear the sound of the neighbours shovelling snow.

Suddenly, Petunia stuck her head inside the cupboard. "Get up, lazybones, make breakfast and shovel snow. We're not going on holidays today, as the roads are completely snowed in," she informed him.

Efficiently managing to hide a grin, Harry obediently replied, "Yes, Aunt Petunia."

While Harry made breakfast for his relatives, the Dursleys gathered around the kitchen table, obviously in a bad mood.

"Why can't we go on holidays?" Dudley shouted in clear disappointment, banging his fork against the table.

"Because it's snowing a lot," Petunia replied, patiently, for the umpteenth time on this summer morning.

"I wonder why it's snowing now. It's supposed to be summer," Vernon roared.

Concentrating on moving the scrambled egg onto a plate, Harry was unable to hide a grin, causing his uncle to see red.

"Do you think that it's funny that we can't go on holidays?" he shouted, waving his fists at the small boy in front of him.

"No no Uncle Vernon," Harry hurried to assure the large man, anxiously placing the plate on the table.

"Boy," Petunia spoke up. "Go to Mrs. Figg and help her with the garden work today. Stay out of our way for the day."

"Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry replied, obediently, eyeing his aunt in surprise. _'How am I supposed to do garden work when it's snowing?'_ he wondered, however, knowing that he was not entitled to ask questions, he hurriedly left the house, glad to get away from his enraged uncle and cousin for a while. _'They even forgot that I was supposed to shovel snow,_' he realised, and a small grin played on his lips as he crossed the street and knocked at Mrs. Figg's door.

HP

"Harry," the old 'cat lady' - as he used to call her - greeted him in apparent surprise. "How nice of you to visit me on this crazy morning."

"Aunt Petunia told me to visit you and help you with garden work," Harry replied, hesitantly. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

"Ah Harry, you never disturb me, you're always welcome to visit me, even if we can't do anything in the garden today," Mrs. Figg replied, gently.

"Shall I shovel the snow in front of your door?" Harry offered, causing the old lady to cast him a grateful look.

"That would be very kind of you if you don't mind," she replied, smiling.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry was finished and gladly followed Mrs. Figg inside, realising that it was uncomfortably cold outside, especially without any coat or jacket whatsoever.

"Let's have some hot cocoa," Mrs. Figg suggested, and Harry happily agreed, knowing that he was always allowed to eat and drink whatever was on the table, when he visited the kind, old lady.

Harry spent the whole day at the cat lady's house. When she noticed that Harry seemed to be tired and not his usual self, she gave him a sharp look and asked, "Are you feeling all right, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry lied, knowing better than to complain.

"Why don't you sit here on the sofa and take some rest or read a book?" Mrs. Figg suggested and placed a very thick book in front of the boy: _'Hogwarts: A History'_.

_'A book for me to read?'_ Harry thought in disbelief. He loved to read, but at the Dursleys it was impossible for him to lay his hands on a book. Soon he was engrossed in his lecture, which turned out to be very interesting.

HP

During the following three weeks, Harry visited Mrs. Figg every day, feeling very reassured that the cat lady explicitly invited him to come back in the morning. To his great pleasure, she did not make him look at her photo albums of cats like she had done so often in the past, however, she allowed him to sit on the sofa and continue reading her book, as soon as he had finished shovelling snow. Unbeknownst to the boy, she was slightly concerned about him, realising that he seemed slightly unwell in spite of the fact that he denied it whenever she asked.

She was just pondering if she should ask Poppy Pomfrey to come over and take a look at the child, when Harry replied to her usual question, "I'll be all right. It'll be better next week."

Mrs. Figg gave the boy a surprised look. "How do you know that sweetie?" she enquired in a soft voice.

Harry shrugged. "I just know it. It's going to stop snowing, and school's going to begin next week," he replied, absentmindedly, his thoughts still lingering on the information that he had just read in the book.

"Are you able to look into the future?" Mrs. Figg asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"No," Harry replied, shaking his head in confusion. "Excuse me Mrs. Figg," he hesitantly changed the topic, "could we speak about what's in this book please?"

"Of course sweetheart," Mrs. Figg replied, gently, before she said, thoughtfully, "You may speak with me about everything dear, however, maybe it's better if you don't tell the Dursleys about this book and about our conversations."

"I won't," Harry promised, smiling. "They don't speak with me anyway," he added as an afterthought.

"Do you have questions?" the cat lady asked, kindly.

"Yes," Harry replied, wondering how to ask. "Does magic exist?" he finally blurted out. "The Dursleys have told me that there is no such thing like magic, however, in the book..." He slowly trailed off, casting the old lady a questioning look.

"Magic is real, Harry, and you're a wizard, just like your parents were witches and wizards too," Mrs. Figg informed him in a quiet voice. Seeing Harry stare at her in disbelief, she added, "The Dursleys probably don't want you to know, either because they're scared of magic or because they're jealous."

"Oh all right," Harry said as understanding set in. _'They don't want me to realise what I could do to them if they hurt me,'_ he thought. "Is that why they call me a freak?"

"I think so," Mrs. Figg confirmed, nodding. "You're not a freak in any way though, Harry. You're a very fine boy, and one day, you'll be a powerful wizard."

Harry and his babysitter talked for hours, and the old lady told him everything that she knew about Voldemort, his Death Eaters, Harry's parents, Hogwarts and magic.

HP

Later the same day, it suddenly stopped snowing, to the great relief of the people all over the South of England, where it had snowed for the last three weeks of the summer holidays. Unbeknownst to harry, meteorologists all over the world wondered how it could snow in the South of England, although the North as well as Wales and Scotland were enjoying beautiful summer weather. Even the Ministry of Magic was enquiring about the matter; however, so far there was no hint that any wizard or witch had been involved in the matter.

HP

To Arabella Figg's surprise, the weather improved greatly and with it Harry's condition, making the old lady wonder if the small boy was indeed a seer.

Knowing that he was a wizard and not a freak made Harry feel much better and self worthy, no matter what the Dursleys told him. _'Being able to control the weather must be part of my being a wizard,'_ he realised and worked on carefully experimenting with his ability. During the following two years, he practised, for example, making lightning strike exactly where he wanted it. Not only once, but at least three times it happened that a near-by tree was set to fire by lightning, when Dudley and his friends played their favourite game of Harry hunting. To Harry's amusement, Dudley was too stupid to realise the connection between the lightning and his occupation at the time when it occurred.

HP

Neither did the Dursleys realise that it was their nephews fault that a tornado destroyed parts of the outer wall towards the garden and only ceased when he unobtrusively managed to grab one of the Hogwarts letters that were addressed to him.

He stole himself back into his cupboard, where he eagerly opened his letter and skimmed it with growing excitement. _'I'm going to get to go to Hogwarts,'_ he thought, happily. _'I can't wait to be able to go there. Oh wow, the letter is from Professor McGonagall,'_ he noticed. _'How cool is that?'_ By now he had read the book _'Hogwarts: A History_' about ten times, and of course he knew everything about the Gryffindor head that was written in the book.

Pulling a pen and a piece of paper out of his school bag, he hurriedly scribbled a reply and resolved to ask Mrs. Figg, how he could send his letter and where to buy his school supplies. _'Maybe I could look for a holiday job to earn some money for the school things,'_ he thought.

However, Mrs. Figg reassured him that he possessed enough money at Gringotts for everything that he needed and promised to take him to Diagon Alley and help him buy what his school supplies.

"As soon as that awful storm stops, I'll take you there," she told him, causing Harry to smile broadly.

Harry stared at the window, seeing heavy clouds covering the sky, while the trees outside were shaking forwards and backwards in the strong wind. Feeling so safe and reassured at the cat lady's place, he did not even try to hide what he was doing but just smiled. All of a sudden, the clouds were driven away like by an invisible force. Blue sky appeared all over the South of England, and sunshine began to dry the overflooded gardens. Harry tiredly let himself sink onto the sofa.

"Harry?" Mrs. Figg asked, staring at him in disbelief.

"Can we go now?" Harry replied, questioningly, casting the old lady a comforting smile.

"Yes, in a minute," Mrs. Figg replied, absentmindedly, before she enquired, "Harry, are you able to influence the weather?"

"Yes," Harry replied, simply, noticing in surprise that the old lady stared at him with what seemed to be a combination of amazement and disbelief. "Why?" he queried. "Is that not normal for wizards and witches?"

"No Harry," Mrs. Figg informed him in determination. "It's not normal. You're probably the only person alive who can control the weather. This is amazing." In a slightly sterner voice, she continued, "However it seems to afford a lot of magic, and that makes you tired. You must be extremely careful to not use too much magic."

Harry cast the cat lady a frightened look. "Please don't tell anyone about it," he then said in a small voice.

"I won't," Mrs. Figg promised, soothingly. "Just take good care of yourself." Seeing Harry nod, she asked, "Now are you feeling well enough to go to Diagon Alley?"

"Yes," Harry said, excitedly jumping to his feet.

_tbc... (if there is interest, otherwise it will only be posted on facebook)_


	2. Chapter 2

**Whatever the Weather**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

Mrs. Figg explained to Harry how to use the fireplace and made him go ahead to the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry was thrown out of the fireplace, looking around with interest. To his surprise, the place where he had ended up was quite dark. It seemed to be a pub or something like that. Since Harry had never been in one, he did not know exactly what they looked like. To his relief, Mrs. Figg stumbled out of the fireplace a mere instant later. She exchanged a few words with the barkeeper and introduced him to Harry, before she asked him to let them out into the alley.

Harry only comprehended what she meant, when he observed how Tom tapped his wand against the wall to open a door for them. Soon they found themselves in a small but very lively shopping street.

"First of all, we should go to Gringotts Bank, so that you can get money to buy everything that you'll need for Hogwarts," Mrs. Figg suggested, and Harry gladly agreed. He looked at the show windows of the shops on both sides of the street with interest and felt very happy at the thought of having his own money to buy something for the first time in his life.

HP

In front of what seemed to be the bank, Mrs. Figg stopped to talk to an elder lady, who was accompanied by what seemed to be a student and her parents.

"Minerva," Mrs. Figg greeted the woman, "I'm just taking Harry Potter to buy his school supplies. I hope that's all right with Albus." She turned to the boy and explained, "Harry, this is Professor McGonagall."

"Hello Professor," Harry said, holding out his hand to greet her.

"Harry," the professor replied, smiling at the boy. "I'm happy to see you here. It's good that Mrs. Figg introduced you to the magical world and helps you with your shopping. This is Hermione Granger, by the way. She'll be a first year in September, too."

"Hello," Harry said, shyly eyeing the girl.

"Hi Harry," Hermione said, smiling eagerly. "I'm happy to meet you. I can't wait to begin studying at Hogwarts and properly learn to do magic."

"Yes me too," Harry agreed, returning the smile. _'Apart from weather magic,'_ he thought, inwardly grinning. _'That's the only magic that I can already cast.'_

Together, the group entered Gringotts, where they first queued for Mrs. Figg and the Grangers to exchange Muggle money into Galleons, and then the whole group rode the carriage to get to Harry's vault. _'Magic is absolute amazing,'_ Harry thought, happily, when he was sitting in the carriage next to Hermione, _'and this here is just fun.'_

When they left the bank, Professor McGonagall turned to Mrs. Figg and offered to take Harry with her together with the Grangers. "I know that you don't overly like it here, Arabella," she said in a soft voice.

Mrs. Figg nodded gratefully, before she asked Harry if it would be all right for him to do his shopping together with the professor and the other first year.

"Of course," Harry quickly reassured the old lady, and after arranging with McGonagall that Harry should just take the Floo back to her home, Mrs. Figg left the small group.

Harry enjoyed himself immensely. He immediately liked Hermione and her parents, and the feeling seemed to be mutual. Everything at Diagon Alley was so interesting for the two children that they could not help staring at this and that and talking about anything under the moon.

Professor McGonagall was also very kind and helped Harry choose not only school clothes but also every day clothes, underwear and pyjamas, apparently realising from the outfit that he was wearing that the Dursleys did not bother to properly dress him in suitable clothes.

Finally, they went to buy wands, before they ended up in the Magical Menagerie, because McGonagall suggested for the children to buy owls. "It's not a must though, as we have hundreds of school owls that the students may use to send their letters," she explained to the Grangers.

"If that's so, I'd rather like to have a cat," Hermione said, cheerily, causing Harry to agree.

_'I don't need an owl anyway. I don't know anyone to whom I could write apart from the cat lady, and to her I could send a school owl,'_ he thought, as he hurried to follow Hermione into the shop.

On the way to the feline section, however, he saw the most beautiful bird that he had ever seen. It was fairly large and its wings did not have just one colour, but consisted of several shades of green, blue, yellow and white. Harry stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing the bird.

#Hello nestling,# the bird suddenly spoke to him. #I can sense that you'll be the perfect familiar for me. Please take me with you.#

"Hello there," Harry replied with a combination of amazement and confusion. "Why do you think I'd be the perfect familiar for you if I may ask?"

#My name is Osiris, and I'm a weather phoenix# the bird informed him, #and you're a weather mage.#

"Do you understand the phoenix?" she shop owner suddenly threw in.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, shyly. "He's beautiful. May I pet him sir?"

"Yes you may, if he lets you," the shop owner replied, nodding his head. "He's a weather phoenix. If the weather is bad, he's very grumpy, but on fine days like today, he's the most charming bird I've ever had.

As soon as Harry began to carefully pet the phoenix's head, the bird began to let out a series of beautiful trills. One did not have to be able to understand phoenix talk in order to know that he phoenix expressed clear happiness.

"I believe that the two of you are made for each other," the shop owner said, smiling at the scene.

"Harry, take him with you," Hermione spoke up. "It's a big honour if a phoenix wants to bond with you, and if you can understand his trills it's just perfect."

"All right," Harry agreed, continuing to pet the bird. "The problem is that I still have to live with my relatives for six weeks, and they won't allow me to have him. Could I pay for him now and come to collect him in six weeks' time?" he asked, hesitantly.

"I can keep him for you until Hogwarts commences," Hermione threw in. "Would that be all right for you?" she queried, looking at the phoenix in expectation.

#It's no problem at all, nestling# Osiris replied. #I can just spend some time at phoenix land, and I'll come back to you on time. Give me a moment to bond with you, and then you can just contact me telepathically at any time.#

An instant later, Harry suddenly felt very happy and knew that the phoenix must have bonded with him. "I'll take him," he informed the shop owner and paid for Osiris, before he followed Hermione to the feline part of the shop with Osiris sitting comfortably on his shoulder. While the girl looked at the cats only to fall in love with a kneazle cat, a sudden thought crossed his mind, and by the time they left the Magical Menagerie, he had already decided, _'I'm not going to return to the Dursleys. I'll rent a room in the pub and stay there until school begins.'_

HP

When they were finished with their shopping, Professor McGonagall shrunk Harry's shopping items for him to a small parcel and told him that he'd only have to tap it with his hand in order to enlarge everything again.

Profusely thanking the witch, Harry pocketed his luggage, while McGonagall did the same with Hermione's purchases. Finally, the professor gave them instructions how to get to platform nine and three quarters on the first of September and told the Grangers that they had to accompany Harry to the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron, before she would take them back home with their Portkey.

"It's fine, Professor. I can just go there by myself," Harry tried to reassure the teacher, however, McGonagall remained firm and accompanied Harry back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Harry, can your phoenix deliver messages?" Hermione asked, eagerly. "If so, will you please write to me? I'll write back then, because we'll surely both have lots of questions after reading our new books."

"All right," Harry replied, after Osiris assured him that he was well able to take his letters to the girl and vice versa.

Finally, McGonagall held out a box with Floo powder to him and instructed him to say "Arabella Figg's place" to get back to the old lady's home.

_'I can't tell the professor that I'm not going to return to the Dursleys'_,' Harry thought. _'I need to go there and come back later on. I just hope Mrs. Figg will allow me to use her fireplace again.'_

#I can take you there if you don't want to use the fireplace# Osiris offered. #I won't go through the fire with you anyway, but if you choose the fireplace, I'll just meet you there.#

HP

After answering all of Mrs. Figg's questions about his afternoon at Diagon Alley, Harry left the cat lady's house together with Osiris, as if he was going to return to the Dursleys'. However, instead of heading straight to the entrance door, he walked behind the garage and asked the phoenix, "Will you please take me back to Diagon Alley?"

#A wise decision,# Osiris replied, smirking, and instructed the boy to grab his tail feathers.

A mere instant later, Harry found himself in a small corner inside the Leaky Cauldron. With the phoenix sitting on his shoulder, Harry searched for the barkeeper and asked him for a small room. "Until Hogwarts begins please, but the headmaster or the other professors mustn't know that I'm here," he admitted to the older wizard, who assigned him a small room on the top floor for a Galleon a week.

"I'll send a house-elf to bring you the meals," he promised, "so that you don't have to eat downstairs, where you could meet one or the other professor. Students and teachers go in and out here to buy everything that they need for the new school year, so it might be good if your phoenix took you outside and back again."

Harry spent the following week reading all of his new school books. In the evenings, he wrote a letter to Hermione about what he had read during the day, and Hermione used to write her letters at the same time, so that Harry did not have to wait long for Osiris to return with her letter. Only very early in the mornings, when the shopping street was not full with people yet, did he dare going out to enjoy himself looking at the colourful show windows.

One day, after Harry had told her that Osiris was able to take him wherever he wanted to go, Hermione invited Harry to visit her, and the two children spent an enjoyable day at the Grangers' home. From that time onwards, the two friends met either at the Grangers' or at Diagon Alley every other day. When they had finished reading their school books, they paid a visit to Flourish & Blotts and bought a huge pile of books for various subjects.

_'This is the best summer I've ever had,'_ Harry thought one night. _'Having a friend and being able to read as much as I want, plus no chores to do for the Dursleys. I can really be happy.'_

HP

Almost too soon for his liking, the summer holidays came to an end. As much as he looked forward to finally becoming a student at Hogwarts, as much had he enjoyed this summer.

"Ah I can't wait for classes to commence," Hermione said, smiling, when the two friends were standing in front of the window in Harry's room looking down on Diagon Alley that was extremely crowded on this day at the end of August.

"I just hope that we're going to be sorted into the same house," Harry replied, thoughtfully. "What if we end up in different houses?"

Hermione's expression darkened considerably. "That would be horrible," she said, terrified. "You're the first friend I've ever had, and no one else whom I know would be willing to read as many books as I. Maybe we can influence the Sorting Hat? Let's try to get into Gryffindor. I really liked Professor McGonagall, and it would be great to be in her house, don't you think so Harry?" she queried, looking at him in clear expectation.

"Yes, I think so too," Harry agreed, although he had not really thought about which house he'd prefer.

HP

In the morning of the first of September, Harry asked the barkeeper to shrink his luggage and to reserve the room for him again for the next summer, before he instructed Osiris to take him to King's Cross station.

"Will you come with me on the train?" he asked the phoenix, when they arrived in front of the station.

#I shall accompany you,# Osiris trilled, sounding slightly irritable.

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a bad mood this morning?" Harry asked in concern. "Do you mind that we're going to live at Hogwarts now?"

#No,# the phoenix replied, grumpily. #But I'm a weather phoenix, and I like good weather and not this drizzle.#

_'Oh right,'_ Harry thought. _'I almost forgot what I was told at the Magical Menagerie.'_ Rolling his eyes in annoyance, he looked at the sky, and an instant later, the grey clouds vanished into thin air and the sky was as blue as it could be.

#Thank you so much,# Osiris trilled, sounding much happier. #Now let's go, before the know-it-all will miss you.#

_tbc..._

_Thank you very much for the many kind comments to the previous chapter. Please remember that this story is COMPLETELY AU and that it is a HEALER POMFREY STORY. Check my profile page if you have not done so yet. There will not be much about Sirius Black or Ron Weasley in this story, just like in all my other stories. If you don't like it, stop reading now and don't complain afterwards._


	3. Chapter 3

**Whatever the Weather**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_I am only writing for fun. If you don't like my stories, don't read them._**

* * *

As soon as the first-years climbed out of the boats and stepped inside the castle, Osiris vanished from Harry's shoulder, where he had been sitting comfortably during the boat ride.

_'Oh no, where has he gone?'_ Harry wondered, however, became distracted by the overall excitement that spread among the first-years, when they came to face Professor McGonagall.

It was only when the first-years stood in front of the high table in the Great Hall and waited for the Sorting that Harry saw his familiar again. To his surprise, Osiris was together with another phoenix, which held a completely different colour. _'It's only red and gold, maybe a fire phoenix,'_ Harry thought, staring at the two birds that were sitting on two torches at the far away wall in amazement.

He was brought back to reality when Hermione was called to the Sorting Hat. It seemed to take fairly long, before the Hat shouted into the hall, "Gryffindor."

_'She must have talked him into it,'_ Harry thought, _'that's why it took so long.'_ He absentmindedly observed how his friend sat at the Gryffindor table, where she was soon joined by Neville Longbottom, the boy who had shared the compartment with them on the Hogwarts Express. _'I wonder if he's got his toad now,'_ Harry thought, inwardly chuckling as he remembered the train ride, during which they had spent a lot of time searching for the toad that seemed to want nothing more than to get away from his owner.

Finally, McGonagall called out, "Harry Potter."

Harry stumbled forward and excitedly sat on the stool, waiting for the professor to place the Hat onto his head. Suddenly, a small voice penetrated his mind.

'Oh this is difficult. What am I going to do with you?'

"Gryffindor please. I want to be together with Hermione," Harry whispered, causing the Hat to sigh.

'That sounds very much like Hufflepuff.'

"No, we just want to study together," Harry whispered, insistently.

'Oh then maybe Ravenclaw,' the Hat thought to him, pensively.

_'No, I don't think I'd fit into any other house,'_ Harry thought, horrified.

'Slytherin would suit you well, too.'

"No, the one who killed my parents was in Slytherin," Harry whispered, feeling more and more annoyed by the Hat, when the Hat suddenly shouted into the Hall.

"Gryffindor."

_'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought, as he happily walked over to his new house table, sitting next to Hermione.

HP

_'Finally at Hogwarts,'_ Harry thought, as he absentmindedly listened how the other first-years introduced themselves. _'No one can call me a freak here, and I'm in the same house as Hermione. Neville seems to be very nice, too.'_

As much as he enjoyed the delicious food, Harry was glad when the welcoming feast was over and the prefects guided the first-years to the Gryffindor common room. _'I wonder if I can take Osiris into the dormitory with me,'_ Harry thought, sending a questioning look in the direction of the two phoenixes that were talking animatedly.

'I'll catch up with you in a bit,' Osiris thought to him, before he let out a few comforting trills, and Harry quickly followed his housemates out of the Great Hall.

When he entered the dormitory, he realised to his great surprise that there was a perch, equipped with a small bowl of water and one with phoenix treats right next to the bed in front of the window. _'That must be my bed then,'_ he thought, feeling thrilled to have his bed right next to the window.

"Oh the house-elves of course know that you have a phoenix familiar," Neville informed him, smiling, as he took the bed next to Harry's. "They're amazing creatures, and Granny told me that they know everything."

Harry spent the next hour talking with Neville and his other three dorm mates, Ronald, Dean and Seamus, who seemed all very nice, before Osiris suddenly flashed into the dormitory, accompanied by a small whirlwind. Harry introduced the bird as his familiar, and Ron introduced his rat, when suddenly Ron's older brother Percy, a fifth year prefect, stuck his head into the dormitory and instructed the first-years to go to bed.

Harry immediately obeyed and lay down so that he could look out of the window. For a while, he observed the giant squid play in the moonlight, before he finally drifted off to sleep with a smile playing on his lips.

HP

In the morning, Hermione was waiting for Harry in the common room. "I can't wait for the classes to begin," she said in clear excitement. "Harry, what do you think which books we need today?"

"I don't have a clue," Harry replied, shrugging. "We didn't receive any timetable or such yet."

"Leave your bags here..."

"... We're going to get our timetables at breakfast..."

"... and afterwards, you can go and pack your bag before heading to class," the red-haired twins, whom Harry had already found very funny at dinner, informed them.

HP

The Gryffindor and Slytherin first-years' first morning class was Transfiguration. The teacher was very strict, however, she was fair and equally awarded house points to Harry, Hermione and Draco Malfoy, when they managed to transfigure their match into a needle.

The following class should be more eventful and not as peaceful. Professor Snape held a long and apparently well studied monolog about the brewing of potions, and Harry, who tried to take notes, had to write quickly in order to keep up.

Finally, Hermione whispered, "Don't take notes of this. Just listen. It's not so important."

"Okay," Harry whispered back and laid down his quill.

"Ms. Granger, ten points from Gryffindor from disturbing my class," the professor bellowed, before he turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter, our new 'celebrity'," he sneered, staring at the boy with obvious disgust. "Clearly fame isn't everything if you need a muggleborn student to tell you what to do in my class."

"Sorry sir," Harry mumbled, however, he did not expect the professor to react in the way he did.

"Mr. Potter," the professor continued, "what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"A sleeping potion, also called the Draught of Living Death sir," Harry replied, remembering that he and Hermione had read about this potion just a few days ago.

He felt all eyes of his classmates stare at him in apparent amazement, when the Potions Master continued to ask him questions. Harry was able to answer the first three, before he had to admit that he did not know the answer.

"You don't know?" the professor sneered, clearly pleased that he had found something to which the boy had not been able to reply. "Clearly fame isn't everything."

Harry could not help blushing profusely, and when he glared at the professor, he heard the first thunder come down on the grounds.

"Keep calm Harry. Don't let him get to you," Hermione whispered in a soothing voice that made Harry relax and the professor see red.

"Five points from Gryffindor for your insolence," he barked at Hermione, before he decided to begin with his class.

Harry had much fun brewing his potion, and the weather on the Hogwarts grounds slowly improved. The first-years had to brew a simple healing potion, of which Harry already knew the recipe by heart, because he had read several potions books during the last month. _'It's really fun to actually brew,_' he thought, as he carefully stirred his potion to completion. He had the impression as if the professor was observing his every move, however, to his relief, the Potions Master had nothing to criticize, and the rest of the class passed uneventfully.

HP

"He seems to clearly despise me, but I wonder why," he said to Hermione and Neville on their way to the last morning class. "He doesn't even know me."

"I've no idea," Hermione replied, thoughtfully. "But I hope that he's going to change his opinion upon realising how much you're interested in Potions."

"I really like it," Harry said, smiling. "It's a bit similar to cooking, which I learned when I was three, but it's even more interesting."

"I totally messed up my potion," Neville admitted. "It ended up as a slimy, brown liquid."

Harry quirked an eyebrow in surprise. "Mine was a light orange liquid," he said, thoughtfully, "but I don't know what could go wrong to change it slimy and brown."

"I hope Professor Snape will explain it to us instead of just taking points off Gryffindor," Hermione threw in, sighing. "Perhaps we could ask the professor if we may use the Potions classroom after dinner and teach you to brew the potion," she said, thoughtfully. "Let's ask Professor McGonagall to speak with him at lunch."

HP

To Harry's surprise and relief, because he really wanted to help his friend, Professor McGonagall informed them right before lunch was over that they were allowed to use the Potions classroom between the last afternoon class and dinner. Apparently, the Potions professor did not trust three first-years on their first day of classes to properly use the Potions classroom by themselves and busied himself in the classroom brewing two potions at once. Every now and then he cast a glance at the table, where Hermione and Harry were guiding Neville through the brewing process.

When Neville finished the potion, the professor gave it a sharp look and sniffed at it, before he commented, "Correct. I expect that you leave the classroom like you found it when you arrived."

"Thank you for allowing us to brew sir," Harry replied, gratefully.

"Excuse me sir," Hermione threw in, "would you mind teaching us how to clean up our workspace with magic?"

Snape quirked an eyebrow, however, apparently realising that it probably was not the last time that Hermione and Harry would have to help Neville with his nonexistent brewing abilities, taught them the necessary spells.

"Thank you sir," Harry said, happily.

The Potions Master stared at him with an expression of clear annoyance and merely inclined his head, before he pointed to the door.

HP

_'He behaved much more civically than this morning,'_ Harry thought, when he climbed up the stairs towards the Great Hall for dinner. _'I really want to know why he seems to dislike me so much.'_ He absentmindedly nodded, when Hermione invited Neville to do his homework together with Harry and her after dinner.

However, just when dinner was almost finished, Professor McGonagall came by the Gryffindor table and said, "Mr. Potter, please follow me to the headmaster's office. Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak with you."

_'Oh no, I just hope that he didn't found out that I left the Dursleys and stayed at Diagon Alley during the last six weeks,'_ Harry thought, when he quietly followed his head of house out of the Great Hall.

"How was your first day at Hogwarts, Harry?" McGonagall enquired, when they walked through the deserted corridors.

"It was amazing," Harry replied, smiling, before he remembered to ask, "Professor, do you know why Professor Snape hates me so much?"

McGonagall cast him an astonished look, causing Harry to tell the professor about the first half of his Potions class.

"Well done for studying so much during the holidays," McGonagall commended him with a small smile playing on her lips, before she explained, "Professor Snape was your parents' classmate, and while your mother was his best friend, your father used to play pranks on him every now and then, and they were not on good terms. Although you're the child of both your parents, from the outside you resemble your father a lot. Maybe it'll take some time for Professor Snape to realise that you're not your father. Don't worry Harry," she said, gently patting his arm, "eventually he'll find out, especially when you're interested in Potions."

"I love brewing potions," Harry replied, smiling. However, by now they had reached the gargoyle that was guarding the headmaster's office, and their conversation was finished.

HP

Harry hesitantly entered the headmaster's office behind his head of house, letting his eyes wander around the beautiful, round office in amazement. _'What a beautiful office,'_ he thought. _'Too bad that Fawkes isn't there. I'd have loved to get to know Osiris' friend.'_

To Harry's surprise, he realised that none other than Professor Snape was waiting for him together with the Headmaster. _'Oh no, what did I do now?'_ he worried, giving the professors an anxious look.

"Harry," the headmaster spoke up in a friendly but stern voice and motioned him to take a seat.

Harry hesitantly sat on the edge of the empty seat between Professors McGonagall and Snape, wondering why the headmaster was wearing such a grave expression, completely unlike the previous evening in the Great Hall, when he had been wearing a cheerful expression the whole time.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind readers who fed my muse - the quick update is my thank you to you!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Whatever the Weather**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_I am only writing for fun. If you don't like my stories, don't read them._**

* * *

"Harry," Dumbledore spoke up in a grave voice. "I'm sorry my boy, but I have bad news for you." Seeing that Harry stared him in expectation, he continued, "Last night, Death Eaters went to your home and killed your family."

"My family?" Harry queried in confusion, thinking, _'My family died when I was a baby.'_

"The Dursleys, Harry," the headmaster explained. "I'm sorry my boy, I placed blood wards around their house to keep you safe, however, they must have failed when you came to Hogwarts in spite of the fact that you were supposed to go back there for two months every summer."

_'Someone killed the Dursleys because of me,'_ Harry's mind screamed, and dark thunderstorm clouds began to gather over Scotland. "I'm sorry," he stammered, horrified.

"Harry, there's nothing to be sorry about, it's not your fault," McGonagall spoke up in a soothing voice.

_'It probably is my fault,'_ Harry realised, _'because I reserved a room at the Leaky Cauldron for next summer and decided to not to return to the Dursleys.'_

"Severus, do you know who was involved in this?" Dumbledore asked Snape, who was wearing a blank expression.

"Bellatrix and Rudolphus Lestrange," the Potions Master replied.

Harry concentrated for an instant, before he summoned his weather magic, letting lose two lightnings in order to revenge his relatives who had somehow managed to raise him in spite of not considering him as family.

Fiercely rubbing his forehead in a faint attempt to fight the headache that came up with the huge amount of magic cast, he turned his attention back to the headmaster, who was still speaking.

"... therefore, we believe that this would be the best for you my boy," Dumbledore just finished his explanation.

"Excuse me sir," Harry replied, noticing that the air in the office had suddenly become strangely colder and that everyone stared at him in expectation.

"You don't have to decide tonight my boy," the headmaster informed him in a kind voice. "Please think about it and let me know about your preferences during the next few days."

"Excuse me sir, decide what?" Harry asked, timidly.

"Albus, the poor child is completely confused," McGonagall threw in, giving Harry a sharp look. "Are you feeling all right Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Harry lied. "I was just thinking for a moment."

"That's understandable," the headmaster said, gently. "As you know, the Dursleys were your guardians in the Muggle world, and the blood wards around your home were supposed to keep you safe. Now you need a new guardian. While you're at Hogwarts ten months in a year, Professor McGonagall as your head of house is automatically your guardian. However, you also need someone, with whom you can spend the summer holidays and who will act as your guardian outside of Hogwarts."

"Oh," Harry replied in surprise, giving the headmaster a questioning look.

"We believe that Professor Snape would be best suited as your guardian," Dumbledore explained. "He's much younger than us and will be better able to keep you safe than any of us. However, any of the teachers here at Hogwarts would be willing to become your guardian. Please think about it and inform us about your decision as soon as possible."

_'Any of the teachers would agree to become my guardian?'_ Harry wondered in utmost surprise. _'Even Snape?' _Like in a trance, he left the office together with his head of house.

"Harry, Professor Snape won't be so bad," McGonagall suddenly spoke up, "once you get to know each other." She gave Harry a sharp look, taking in his white face with red spots on his cheeks in concern. "Harry, are you feeling all right?" she repeated her earlier question. "You don't look well at all."

"I'm fine," Harry replied, however, he suddenly felt very dizzy and had to hold on to the wall for an instant.

"I don't think so," McGonagall disagreed, and before Harry knew what happened, a cold hand gently felt his forehead. "Let's make a small detour to the hospital wing to let Madam Pomfrey check on you," she suggested.

Harry understood that it was not just a suggestion and slightly began to panic. _'What if she realises what freak I am and that I can influence the weather?'_ he worried, while the thunderstorm intensified around Hogwarts. He anxiously let his eyes wander around the hospital wing, which was completely void of other students on this first day of the school year.

McGonagall made him sit on the first bed and introduced the healer, who had bustled out of her office as soon as she heard them enter the hospital wing.

"Hello Harry," Pomfrey greeted him in a friendly voice, and Harry couldn't help liking the kind witch immediately. "Let's see what you got yourself into," she said and began to wave her wand over him, muttering to herself as she cast spell over spell.

Finally, the healer let her wand sink and handed Harry a set of stripy, blue pyjamas. "Please make yourself comfortable in this bed," she instructed him. "I'm going to keep you here overnight."

"No, please don't," Harry protested, giving the adults a pleading look. "Please let me go. I'll be fine," he insisted, horrified at the thought of spending the night in the hospital wing.

A huge thunder shook the castle. "Oh my, what a tempest tonight," Pomfrey said to the professor, sighing.

McGonagall agreed, before she enquired, "What's wrong with Mr. Potter, Poppy?"

The healer let out a long sigh. "I can't find any reason for his fever apart from a severe headache and the fact that he depleted his magic to a great extent. Therefore I'm going to keep him here. However," she continued, making her colleague look at her questioningly, "it's not only for observation. He has many old injuries like broken bones that have healed somehow but not properly, and I'd like to remedy that while he's asleep. Apart from that, fifty percent of his body are covered in bruises and welts. He has clearly been abused by his relatives and..."

"I'm fine," Harry interrupted the healer, swinging his legs out of the bed.

"No Mr. Potter, you're going to stay here," McGonagall told him in a firm voice. "I'll come back to fetch you on time for breakfast in the morning. If you need me earlier for some reason, Madam Pomfrey will fetch me at any time. Good night and please do exactly as Madam Pomfrey says." Receiving a comforting nod from her colleague, she left the hospital wing, leaving her little lion to the healer.

HP

Madam Pomfrey sat on the edge of Harry's bed. "Harry, are you afraid of me?" she queried, giving the boy a sharp look.

"A little," Harry admitted and told the kind witch that he had never been to a healer or a doctor before.

Pomfrey nodded grimly. "Apparently, your relatives did not take good care of you," she stated, sighing. "At least you will get a better guardian now. Now Harry, will you tell me what you did today to deplete your magic to such an extent?" she asked in a soft voice.

Harry hesitated. On the one hand, the healer was very nice, but on the other hand, would she remain so kind knowing that he was a freak?

"Madam Pomfrey," he spoke up, anxiously. "Can you promise that you won't inform anyone about what I tell you now?" He gave the healer a frightened look.

However, the old witch smiled. "Of course Harry, I've sworn a healer's oath to keep my patients' secrets to myself. You can tell me anything," she reassured him.

"I can influence the weather," Harry admitted in a small voice, "but I don't want anyone to know about it. "When I'm angry about something, I usually make it rain. Tonight, I wanted to make a thunderstorm to get back at the people who killed the Dursleys."

The healer remained quiet for a moment, before she queried in disbelief, "So it's you to whom we owe the storm tonight?"

"Yes," Harry admitted, deciding at the same time that it was enough. Immediately, the sound of the wind that had been raging around the towers stopped. Together with the healer, he looked through the window, observing how the moon came into sight from behind the dark clouds. An instant later, the giant squid began to happily play in the moonshine, accompanied by loud sounds of splashing water.

"I've never known anyone who could control the weather," Pomfrey said in clear amazement. "Please use this ability wisely, and be careful to not deplete your magic to such an extent. It could be very dangerous for you," she instructed him in a no-nonsense voice.

"I'll be careful," Harry promised.

The healer excused herself for a moment to fetch a headache potion and a fever reducer for Harry. When she came back, she said, "It would be better if your new guardian new about the matter and could teach you to control your magic, dear. Have you already thought about whom you want to become your guardian?"

"No Madame," Harry replied, realising that the potions had helped a lot. "And please I don't want anyone else to know about it. Whom would you recommend as my guardian?"

"I won't tell anyone," Pomfrey reassured him, smiling. "The matter about your guardian is a difficult decision; however, I'd recommend Professor Snape in the first place, not only because he's the youngest of my colleagues, but also because his home life was not better as yours seem to have been, and because he'll be able to efficiently teach you to control your powers, even if he's not aware that you're a weather mage."

"But Professor Snape hates me, because I look like my father," Harry contradicted. "Excuse me Madame, but would you also be willing to become my guardian?" _'She's like Mrs. Figg or Hermione, she really takes time to speak with me. Never did anyone do that before,'_ he thought, casting the healer a pleading look.

Pomfrey sighed. "I'd love to become your guardian sweetie, however, I'm as old as Professor McGonagall, plus I might be very busy here in the hospital wing just when you might need me. Maybe Professor Snape and I could both become your guardians? Would you like that?" she suggested in a soft voice.

"If Professor Snape really doesn't mind..." Harry spoke up but trailed off.

"I'm sure of that," Pomfrey replied in a firm voice. She quickly pointed her wand at Harry's head to check that his temperature had come down, before she asked, "Shall we call him here? Are you feeling well enough now to speak with him?"

"Will you remain here?" Harry asked, thinking, _'Oh my I sound like a whiny little child.'_ "Sorry," he apologized.

"No problem sweetie," the healer reassured him and promised to remain for the conversation with the Slytherin head.

HP

A few minutes later, the Potions Master came out of the fireplace and stepped around Harry's bed, quirking an eyebrow in silent question.

"Severus," the healer spoke up, "thank you for coming. Mr. Potter is in my care due to neglect and probably even abuse by the hands of his relatives. He wants to ask you if you'd be willing to become his guardian together with me."

The Potions Master's face remained indifferent, as he turned to Harry and asked, "Are you certain, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes sir, I'm sure," Harry replied immediately.

"Very well then," Snape agreed, exchanging a glance with his colleague. "I'll call Albus then."

While they were waiting for the headmaster to arrive, Pomfrey informed Snape about her findings concerning Harry's health as well as the neglect that he had endured with the Dursleys'.

"I've known Petunia well," Snape growled. "How dare she treat Lily's child like that?"

_'I got my revenge though,'_ Harry mused, recalling how he had made it snow during the whole summer holidays or had tornados destroy his aunt's flower beds right before an important gardening contest.

"What is so funny Mr. Potter?" Snape suddenly enquired upon noticing Harry's amusement.

"Nothing sir," Harry replied, interrupting himself when he saw the headmaster step out of the fireplace.

HP

"Severus," Dumbledore addressed the Potions Master, "Mr. Shacklebolt has just informed me that Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband have both been killed during the thunderstorm tonight."

The Slytherin's face remained blank. He merely nodded as a sign that he had heard the news.

"Albus, we've called you here because Mr. Potter would like Severus and myself to become his guardians and to inform you about the Dursleys' ill treatment of Mr. Potter," Pomfrey spoke up, noticing that the child drifted off to slumber due to the potion that she had unobtrusively spelled into his system.

After a longer discussion with her two male colleagues, the healer worked on the boy's old injuries for more than two hours, glad that the Potions Master stayed to assist.

HP

When McGonagall arrived to fetch Harry on time for breakfast in the Great Hall, Pomfrey allowed him to leave with the instruction to go to see Professor Snape in his office after the last afternoon class.

'_I'd rather speak with Snape first thing in the morning,' _Harry thought in annoyance, as he walked to the Great Hall together with his head of house. _'But in the evening... I'm probably going to worry about the conversation with him the whole day,'_ he mused, unaware that the events of the day would prevent him from further pondering the matter.

"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione queried in apparent concern, when he slipped into the empty seat between her and Neville. "I was so worried when Professor McGonagall came into the common room to inform us that you were in the hospital wing."

"I'm fine," Harry reassured her. "Thank Merlin that we have different classes than yesterday, since I couldn't do any homework yesterday."

"I'm sure otherwise Madam Pomfrey would excuse you anyway," Hermione said, soothingly.

"What did I miss last night?" Harry asked, eagerly, causing Hermione to shake her head in annoyance.

"Nothing really, except for that the Weasley twins had nothing better to do during the holidays than to invent a joke candy that dyes everyone's hair green," she explained. "Half of the first-years were wearing green hair last night."

"That sounds like fun," Harry replied, chuckling. "I really like the twins. They seem to be much fun."

"I think so too," Neville piped up, shyly. "I wished the first morning class was over already. Afterwards, we have Herbology, and I can't wait for it."

"Oh no, I have to go and fetch my book bag," Harry suddenly remembered. "What's our first class?" he queried, already raising from his seat.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts," Hermione informed him and instructed him to hurry.

_'And in the afternoon, we have our Flying class,'_ Harry thought, as he sprinted upstairs to Gryffindor. _'I can't wait to finally sit on a broom.'_ During his holidays at Diagon Alley, he had often stood in front of the window of Quidditch Supplies and looked at the brooms and the interesting looking balls that were decorating the show window. He had listened to the older children's conversations about flying and Quidditch with interest. _'Oh well, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Herbology first,'_ he thought. _'Both sound equally interesting.'_

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews, here and on facebook._


	5. Chapter 5

**Whatever the Weather**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_I am only writing for fun. If you don't like my stories, don't read them._**

* * *

Harry managed to arrive at the Defence classroom, just when the teacher was about to close the door. "I'm sorry sir," he uttered and hurried to the seat between Hermione and Neville that his friends had reserved for him in the first row.

It was mere instants later that he felt a bad headache come up. _'I didn't even do any magic so far,'_ he thought in annoyance. To his relief, he was paired with Neville to practise the first spell, and Neville did not only realise that Harry seemed to not be his usual self, but he also had difficulties casting spells, so that it did not overly matter that Harry was unable to properly pay attention.

_'I'll have to try helping Neville casting spells with his wand,'_ Harry resolved, inwardly sighing in relief when the class came to an end.

After the class, his headache became much better, and by the time Herbology was over, he had already forgotten about the matter.

HP

The main topic at lunch time was the Flying class. If Harry believed everything that his classmates told about their flying abilities, he'd probably felt very self conscious considering that he had never mounted a broom. Everyone except for Hermione, Neville and himself seemed to be expert flyers and the perfect players for a Quidditch match. _'We'll see,'_ Harry thought, as he followed his friends out onto the grounds in expectation.

At first, he felt very bored. The first-year Gryffindors and Slytherins had to stand next to one of the broomsticks, which were lined up on the ground, and had to make the broom come into their hand. Fortunately, Harry's broom obeyed immediately.

When they were instructed to mount their brooms, Harry felt extremely happy. _'I can't wait to go up already,'_ he thought in annoyance, when Madam Hooch told them to not fly but land on the ground immediately afterwards.

All the first-years but Neville obeyed and observed, the Gryffindors mostly horrified, the Slytherins in clear amusement, how his broom took the boy higher and higher.

_'I have to help him,'_ Harry thought, knowing how scared Neville had been at the mere thought of sitting on a broom flying. He put his broom onto the ground. _'He must be horrified,'_ he realised. Looking up to where his friend was hovering in the air, he wished for a soft wind, a breeze that he could control in order to take his friend away from the castle's walls and back to the ground slowly and safely.

The whole class watched how Neville was slowly coming downwards. It was evident that he was not flying but just drifting without his own will, like by a magic hand. When the boy made a soft landing on the ground, Harry could see that his hands were badly shaking.

While everyone was observing Neville on his broom, unbeknownst to Harry, Hermione was staring at him instead. However, she knew better than to disturb her best friend with whatever he was doing.

"What happened Mr. Longbottom?" Madam Hooch queried, motioning the boy to sit down in the grass.

"I've no idea Madame," Neville replied in a thin voice, thrusting the broom at the teacher.

_'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought. _'I'll gladly deal with the headache again, knowing that my friend is safe and sound on the ground.'_

While Madam Hooch gave further instructions to the first-years, Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin student, suddenly picked up Neville's Remembrall that was lying forgotten on the ground. "Let's see how he gets it back," he shouted and took into the air.

Realising that Neville was about to cry, Harry mounted his broom and followed the Slytherin in spite of Madam Hooch's shouting that Draco and he should return immediately.

"Give it to me," he told Draco, who merely laughed and threw the Remembrall into the air.

Harry dashed to where he could make it out in the blazing sunshine, stretched out his right hand and caught the thing out of the air. _'I got it,'_ he thought, contentedly, as he slowly returned to the ground, only now realising that everyone was watching him.

"Is this your first time on a broom?" Madam Hooch asked, unexpectedly.

"Yes Madame," Harry replied in surprise. He had expected a scolding, maybe detention but not such a question.

"That was a wonderful catch then. You seem to be a talented flyer, and I'll suggest to your Quidditch captain to make you Gryffindor's Seeker," the flying instructor commended him. "However, I'm going to take twenty points each off Gryffindor and off Slytherin for your disobedience," she added in a stern voice, just when Professor McGonagall strode over the grounds to the class.

"Minerva, I suggest to skip the first-years rule and make Harry Potter Gryffindor's Seeker," Hooch immediately informed her colleague.

McGonagall smirked. "Rolanda, that was just my idea," she admitted. "Mr. Potter, are you willing to become our Seeker?" she queried, sounding strangely excited.

"Of course Professor," Harry replied, feeling uncertain on the other hand, as he did not even know what a Seeker had to do, and excited on the other hand.

"Very well then, I'll go and speak with Wood," the professor announced and hurried back inside the castle.

HP

Harry was still excited when he trailed down to the dungeons after their flying class. _'Thank Merlin I was so distracted the whole day that I didn't even have time to fret what Snape's going to say,'_ he thought.

However, to his surprise, the Potions Master was very friendly to him. He asked a few questions about the Dursleys and told him a few things about Harry's mother Lily, before he led him into his private quarters and said, "The room with the blue door on the left side is yours."

Harry hesitantly stepped into the room, his eyes widening as he took in the beautiful, large chamber that was equipped with proper furniture and held in different shades of blue. "This is for me?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes Mr. Potter, is this in any way strange?" Snape queried, quirking an eyebrow. "The door over there leads to Madam Pomfrey's quarters."

"I've never had a room," Harry admitted in a small voice. "Before I came here, I lived in the cupboard under the stairs."

"Petunia can be glad that I'm not able to lay my hands on her and her horrible husband anymore," Snape mumbled, more to himself than to Harry.

However, Harry felt strangely happy at the thought that his new guardian would have stood up for him against his relatives.

Harry and the professor agreed that Harry should spend at least a few hours each weekend together with Snape, so that they both could get to know each other, and that Harry should also spend some time with the healer, whenever she had time, for the same reason.

HP

The following days passed uneventfully, and days turned into weeks. Harry got used to living at Hogwarts very quickly, and he and his two friends soon became inseparably. Harry and Hermione continued to teach Neville in Potions every afternoon, when they were able to use the Potions classroom, and it became common knowledge that the trio loved to read books and could answer almost all questions that their fellow first-years could come up with. They always helped the others and got along well with everyone else.

Draco Malfoy tried to pull Harry into fights multiple times; however, Harry never agreed to fight with the blond boy and tried his best to keep at least a neutral relationship with the Slytherin. _'Severus would surely not be pleased if I continuously got into fights with the Slytherins,'_ he thought and decided to act accordingly. _'They Dursleys always emphasised how kind they were to have taken me in, but neither Poppy nor Severus ever say such a thing,'_ he thought, feeling very happy at his own choice of guardians.

HP

It was on a Monday morning at the beginning of November that Harry received a letter at breakfast.

_Mr. Potter,  
come to my office right after the last afternoon class.  
SS_

Harry stared at the letter, letting the last few days pass in front of his mind, however, he could not recall anything that would warrant for punishment from his guardian. _'What did I do?'_ he wondered, showing the letter to his friends.

"Detention?" Neville mouthed, staring at his friend in disbelief.

"I've no idea," Harry replied in a small voice. "I better go and see what he wants."

"Harry," Hermione spoke up, reaching out for his arm to keep him back. "You haven't even eaten your breakfast. If you haven't done anything bad, there's nothing that he could punish you for," she added in a soothing voice.

_'It's not about punishment, it's just that I don't want to disappoint him,' _Harry thought, not feeling hungry at all. "I'll catch up with you later on," he promised his friends and left the Great Hall, glad that he did not have to hurry to get to his first morning class.

HP

To Harry's surprise, Professor Snape was not alone but together with Pomfrey and McGonagall.

"Harry, are you feeling all right?" Pomfrey demanded, giving him a sharp look.

"Yes," Harry lied, still having a headache from his last afternoon class, Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Now Harry, since you're apparently going to play on a house team in spite of being a first year," Snape spoke up with a sneer on his lips, glaring at McGonagall, before he continued, "we've decided that you need a broom." With that he handed Harry a new broomstick, giving him an encouraging nod.

Harry hesitantly took the beautiful wooden broom into his hands. "Nimbus 2000," he read in amazement, recalling _'That's the broom from the show window that everyone wanted.'_

"Thank you so very much," he stammered, carefully letting his hand wander over the wood.

"You're welcome Harry," McGonagall replied.

"Just be careful sweetie," Pomfrey added, while Snape merely inclined his head. "Harry, you don't seem really well to me. Let me quickly cast a spell to reassure myself."

Harry let out a long sigh. "I'm fine," he said, insistently. "I just have a headache like I always have in and after Defence Against the Dark Arts. It's nothing."

While Pomfrey waved her wand over the boy, frowning, Snape spoke up in a soft voice. "A headache is not nothing, and when were you going to inform us about these headaches?" Not waiting for a reply, he queried, "Is it correct to assume that the pain concentrates on your scar?"

Harry stared at his guardian in confusion, before he admitted, "I think so."

The three adults exchanged horrified looks, before Snape finally said, thoughtfully, "There's only one who'd be able to give Harry a headache. I believe that Quirinus might be possessed by the Dark Lord."

"Oh Merlin," McGonagall breathed, shooting Harry a pitying look.

"Harry, you must be careful at all times, and try to not be alone in the halls let alone in Professor Quirrell's company," Snape instructed the boy in a firm voice.

HP

Harry ran all the way back to Gryffindor, where he showed his team mates the new broom, causing an instant Quidditch practice to take place on the grounds. When the team gathered on the ground, after Harry had caught the Snitch for the third time, Professor Dumbledore was just walking in the direction of the entrance doors and stopped by to say, "I've heard rumours that Gryffindor is going to win the Quidditch cup seven years in a row. Good luck ladies and gentlemen."

"Thank you Professor, and I hope the rumours are correct," Oliver Wood quickly replied, cheerily. "All right team, you all know what you have to do. I want to win the match versus Slytherin next Saturday. With Harry as our Seeker, we could indeed manage to win the cup. Fight for it!"

As much as he was pleased that everyone had so easily accepted him as the Seeker, although he was only a first-year and had never played Quidditch before, as much did it bother him to receive so much praise in advance. _'They should wait and see if I'll be able to catch the Snitch at all,'_ he thought, feeling horrified at the thought of losing the match.

HP

The morning of the first Quidditch match of the school year began as a cold, wonderful day with blazing sunshine. _'Thank Merlin I don't have to interfere with the weather,'_ Harry thought, _'I really must concentrate on catching the Snitch and that wouldn't be easy with a permanent headache._' He was very excited, and the time until the beginning of the match passed much too slow for his liking. However, finally, he was able to take into the air together with his team.

Harry flew above everyone else and immediately began to search for the Snitch. Once, he saw something golden shine behind one of the goal posts, however, when he approached it, he realised that it had only be a reflection caused by the sun rays.

It was about fifteen minutes into the match, when he noticed that something was wrong with his broom. It began to make strange movements, and Harry had to firmly grip the wood and press himself against the broom in order to remain seated. However, it was impossible for him to guide the broom into any direction. He could just sit there, helplessly. _'Someone is jinxing my broom,'_ he thought, upset. _'Do they want to kill me like they murdered the Dursleys?'_

An instant later, the blue sky was covered by dark clouds, and the first raindrops caused uproar among the spectators. Fortunately, neither Hermione nor Neville were impressed by the rain, and they watched Harry's every move in concern.

Harry could not see that Hermione hurried to the teachers' stands to set Snape's robes on fire in the assumption that it was him to jinx Harry's broom. However, he sighed in relief when his broom suddenly went back to acting normal. Glad that the Slytherin Seeker had not managed to catch the Snitch yet, Harry eagerly looked for the small ball, which was now difficult to spot, as it could hide in the lowly hanging clouds. Only thirty minutes later, he was able to close his hands around the struggling ball.

_'People should know better than to try killing me during a match,'_ he thought, enraged, fuelling his magic into a strong lightning.

Panic broke out in the teachers' stands, where one of the professors was hit by a lightning and collapsed on the floor. A mere instant later, heavy thunder shook the castle. Everyone's attention was diverted to the teachers' stands, and no one but Hermione and Neville realised that Harry once again had problems keeping himself on his broom.

Harry felt that not only his headache intensified but that his mind began to slip. _'I cast too strong magic,'_ he realised and feverishly thought, _'I need to get back to the ground,'_ just before he lost consciousness and began to tumble downwards in a free fall.


	6. Chapter 6

**Whatever the Weather**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_I am only writing for fun. If you don't like my stories, don't read them._**

* * *

As sudden as the thunderstorm had begun, as quickly it was over and the dark grey clouds vanished into thin air, just when Pomfrey declared Professor Quirrell as dead. Almost everyone on the grounds watched in shock how Harry Potter was falling from his broom, when all of a sudden, a colourful phoenix appeared in a small whirlwind.

Osiris sat on the broom in front of Harry and flashed away, taking Harry and his broom with him.

HP

When Harry regained consciousness, he found himself lying in his bed in his own room in the teachers' quarters. Osiris was sitting on the perch next to his bed, trilling a happy melody.

"Osiris," Harry mumbled, "I'm still alive."

#Of course you're alive, silly nestling,# Osiris replied, grumpily. #How dare you do such a stunt?#

Before Harry could even think of a reply, Pomfrey entered the room. _'Oh no, she looks very upset,'_ Harry thought. However, the healer merely asked in a soft voice, "How are you feeling, Harry?"

"I'm fine," Harry replied. "I'm just a bit confused." He looked at the healer, questioningly.

"As to why you ended up here in your own bed?" she asked, sighing, before she explained how Osiris had saved Harry's life. "Professor Quirrell is dead by the way," she added, causing Harry to look up in surprise.

"Oh so it was him who jinxed my broom," he said, contentedly. "I'm sorry for sending the lightning after him, but I didn't want him to kill me. What's going to happen with me? Am I going to go to Azkaban?" he then asked, horrified.

Pomfrey shook her head. "No dear, remember that I'm the only one knowing that you're a weather mage. To everyone else it just looked like an accident. No one even suspects anything."

_'I'm a murderer,'_ Harry's mind screamed, and raindrops began to hammer against the window.

"Harry, stop this immediately," the healer reprimanded him in a stern voice. "You've already depleted your magic to a great extent, and you must not aggravate your condition anymore."

"May I leave?" Harry suddenly asked, knowing that Hermione and Neville would be worried about him.

"No," Pomfrey said, sternly. "As long as you still have a headache and a fever, you're going to remain here in our quarters, at least over the weekend. Maybe I can release you on time for classes on Monday morning, however, you must not do any magic until I tell you otherwise."

"All right Madame," Harry replied, sadly, before he found the courage to ask, "May Hermione and Neville visit me, please?"

Pomfrey smirked. "They've been standing in front of the hospital wing demanding to see you ever since the match was over. I'll let them in then." She made Harry drink two potions, before she left the room, muttering to herself.

An instant later, Hermione and Neville dashed into the room

"Harry!" Hermione almost shouted at him. "You have no idea how worried we were," she added in a tear-stricken voice. "I thought you were going to die."

"I'm sorry for making you worry," Harry replied, sighing. "But I'm fine."

"Congratulations for winning the match," Neville spoke up, smiling.

"Thank you," Harry said, returning the smile.

He had the impression as if Hermione wanted to say something, however, the girl merely remained thoughtful and kept quiet.

_'It's almost as if she knew what I did,'_ Harry thought, worriedly. _'I don't really mind her and Neville knowing, but I really don't want anyone else to find out.'_

HP

After curfew, Professor Snape came to visit Harry.

"Professor," Harry asked hesitantly, "with Professor Quirrell dead now what happened to Voldemort's spirit?"

Snape smirked. "Have you ever heard of the Dark Mark?" he queried in return, quirking an eyebrow.

"No sir," Harry replied, questioningly, and the professor explained about the Dark Mark.

"Since Professor Quirrell died, the Dark Mark is completely gone from the Death Eaters' arms, while before it was still faintly visible. Therefore, we assume that the lighting was strong enough to completely destroy his spirit."

Harry had the impression as if his guardian did not tell him the complete truth, however, Snape felt it unnecessary to inform the boy about the Horcruxes that the Dark Lord had made but would not be able to use anymore.

HP

With Professor Quirrell gone, the rest of the school year passed quietly and uneventfully, and except from a few outbursts when someone angered him, Harry kept his weather mage abilities at bay.

Remus Lupin became the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and when he managed to remain on that position at the beginning of the next school year, the professors were sure that the charm on that position was broken and Voldemort had to be dead.

Unfortunately, the remaining Death Eaters also realised this, and Lucius Malfoy apparently decided to become the new dark lord.

That was what Snape told Harry at the end of his second year. "Harry, I'd like to ask you for your help," he said, thoughtfully. "As you know, Draco is my godchild, and I feel somehow responsible for him. Therefore, I wish to prevent him from following into his father's footsteps, and I'd like you to help me with this attempt. Would it be all right for you if I invited Draco to come to visit us for a week or two during the holidays?"

"Of course sir," Harry agreed immediately. "I don't have a problem with Draco. I know that Ron and Seamus are always fighting with him and Crabbe and Goyle, but I've never taken sides in these fights," he explained in a soft voice.

"I know that Harry, and I really appreciate it," Snape said, pensively. "Draco's father is trying to gather other Death Eaters and attack Muggles like the Dark Lord did during the war."

"Excuse me sir," Harry hesitantly began to ask, "would it perhaps be possible for Neville and Hermione to visit me as well?"

"Of course," Snape relented, "if their guardians agree, it's no problem. It'll do you good to do something else than reading or assisting me in the lab for once," he said, smirking, before he remembered to add, "It would be better to have Draco here alone though, or at least for the first week. Otherwise he might feel very conscious as the only Slytherin among three Gryffindors."

"Of course," Harry agreed, smiling.

HP

Draco and Harry got along well. They spent much time flying or playing Wizard's chess or just talking about everything that came to their minds. After the first week, Harry had the impression as if he had gained a new friend. _'He's really nice once he puts his Malfoy arrogance aside,'_ he thought, when Draco returned home after two weeks.

HP

A week later, during which Harry assisted the Potions Master with the brewing of the Potions supply for the next school year and the healer with the reorganisation of her potions stock, Hermione and Neville came to visit Harry.

"Ah, I'm so glad to be here," Neville said, seemingly relieved. "Granny is so grumpy and picks at me the whole time."

"And why might that be?" Harry queried in surprise. He had only met Neville's grandmother once a year ago, when they had gone to Diagon Alley together to buy their school supplies for their second year. The old witch had been very strict but also friendly.

"She's upset because my magic is so weak," Neville admitted in a small voice. "She says I'm a disgrace for the family with my magic not being much stronger than that of a Squib."

"Nonsense," Hermione threw in, glancing at Harry.

"I don't think so either," Harry agreed with the girl and suggested, "Neville, let's go and ask Madam Pomfrey to check your magic. She'll confirm that it's far from that of a Squib." Seeing that Neville hesitated, he added, "Remember she's my guardian, and she's bond to her healer's oath. She won't speak about her findings with anyone."

"All right then," Neville grudgingly agreed and followed his friends through the connecting door into the healer's private quarters.

"Sorry Poppy for bringing my friends through your private quarters," Harry apologized, as they stepped out into Pomfrey's office.

"That's all right dears," Pomfrey replied, gently. "Hello Ms. Granger and Mr. Longbottom, how nice of you to visit Harry. He really needs some rest and fun, which he doesn't get when he's alone at Hogwarts with only adults around."

"Thank you so much for allowing us to visit Harry," Hermione replied, smiling, and Neville shyly nodded his agreement.

"We have a problem," Harry said, slowly. "Neville's granny keeps scolding him saying that his magic was almost as weak as that of a Squib, but neither Hermione and I believe that. Could you perhaps once check Neville's magic?"

"Of course," Pomfrey replied in apparent surprise. "Is that all right with you, Neville?" she asked gently. Seeing the boy nod, hesitantly, she queried, "Would you like your friends to remain here, or shall we do this in private?"

"I don't mind them being here," Neville spoke up in a barely audible voice, glancing at Harry and Hermione, who cast him encouraging looks.

"All right," Pomfrey said in understanding and began to wave her wand over the boy. She cast three spells, before she let her wand sink and smiled.

"Neville," she addressed the frightened boy, "your magic is as strong as it can be for a barely thirteen-year-old. It almost matches Harry's, and I know that he is extremely powerful. Please show me your wand," she demanded, holding out her hand.

Under the watchful eyes of the three friends, she closely inspected the wand and finally asked, "Is this your own wand?"

"It's my father's wand," Neville admitted. "Granny gave it to me when I received my Hogwarts letter."

Pomfrey let out a long sigh and explained, "This is the reason for your problems casting spells. It's not your magic but the wand. You need your own wand my boy."

Seeing Neville stare at the healer wide-eyed in apparent amazement, Harry asked, "Poppy, do you perhaps have time sometime during this week to take us to Olivanders, so we can buy a proper wand for Neville? Please? I will continue to help with the reorganising to make up for it."

"Ah, you're such a sweetie," Pomfrey replied, gently ruffling Harry's hair. "Yes, we can go right away if that's all right with you, Neville."

"I don't have any money," Neville spoke up, sadly.

"It's all right, they can take it from my vault," Harry said in determination, glancing at Poppy, as he continued, "I'll have to inform Severus. He told me he always wants to know where I am."

"No problem," Pomfrey replied and leaned into the fireplace to inform her colleague.

HP

An hour, a visit to the wand maker and a huge ice-cream later, the trio was back at Hogwarts - with an incredibly happy Neville.

"Thank you Harry," Neville said, gratefully. "You've no idea what this means to me."

"I'm happy that we could clarify this," Harry replied, smiling.

"Now shall we practise all the new spells from our third-year books then?" Hermione suggested, eagerly, and the two boys immediately agreed.

HP

The three friends enjoyed their holidays together immensely, until something happened that no one had expected.

It occurred on Harry's birthday. The friends were just having breakfast in the Great Hall together with the teachers, still tired from Neville's birthday party that had lasted until late in the evening, when two owls swept into the Great Hall. One delivered a letter to Harry and one a letter to each Snape and Harry.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. I appreciate them very much!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Whatever the Weather**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_I am only writing for fun. If you don't like my stories, don't read them._**

* * *

While Harry opened the first letter, Snape read his own, before he looked at Harry in uncharacteristic excitement, paling visibly upon noticing what he boy was holding in his hands.

"Harry, put that letter away, it's poisoned," he hissed.

Before Harry could even react, however, the letter vanished into thin air.

"What was it?" McGonagall enquired, giving her little lion a concerned look.

"It was a letter from Mr. Malfoy. It only said _'Thanks for becoming Draco's friend'_ and _'Happy Birthday'_," Harry replied in confusion.

"Well then open the other letter," Snape instructed him, sighing, as he handed his own letter to his colleagues.

Feeling very confused, Harry opened the second parchment.

_'Harry,'_ it said,

_'If you receive a letter or anything from my father, stay away from it. I overheard him saying to his Death Eaters that he's going to poison you. Take care.  
Draco.'_

Harry looked at his hands, however, everything looked normal and he did not feel in any way strange either.

HP

It was a few hours later that Harry suddenly began to feel very ill.

"Let's take you to Pomfrey," Hermione said in a firm voice, noticing quickly that something was very wrong with her best friend.

Pomfrey cast several diagnostic spells, before she let her wand sink, sighing. "Harry, if you want to spend the next few weeks in your own room, I suggest that you move right away. You caught the dragon pertussis." Seeing Hermione cast her a horrified look, while Harry merely nodded in confusion, she explained, "Apparently Mr. Malfoy's poison was something that gave you the dragon pertussis, which is a rare but dangerous magical illness that goes along with a high fever and a horrible cough. It might last a few weeks." Turning to Harry's friends, she promised, "I'll ask Professor Snape to brew a preventive potion for you right away."

HP

During the weeks before the beginning of the new school year, Harry remained very ill. Unbeknownst to the boy as well as to the adults who noticed in concern that his recovery took much longer than expected, every time that he dove into an especially bad coughing fit, a bout of accidental magic caused either a small tornado or a lightning, each attacking one of the followers of Lucius Malfoy in its course.

While the whole British magical world read in the Daily Prophet about the tempests that caused witches and wizards to become injured if not worse on a daily basis, no one had a clue what the reason for these occurrences was. Only Pomfrey, who was still the only person aware that Harry was a weather mage, had her suspicions, which she confirmed with a few well placed diagnostic spells after seeing Harry trying to cough his lungs out; however, she also realised that Harry did not attack anyone on purpose and kept quiet about the matter, feeling slightly relieved that the causalities were exclusively Death Eaters who had been known for committing murders together with Voldemort.

HP

By the beginning of Harry's third Hogwarts year, Harry was barely recovered, and Pomfrey and Snape forbade the boy to ride the Hogwarts Express.

"Harry, I'd like to speak with you for a moment," the Potions Master told is ward, when they returned to their quarters after breakfast.

"All right sir," Harry replied, surprised, and followed his guardian into the living room.

When Harry was sitting on the sofa and Snape had made himself comfortable in his favourite arm chair, he slowly began to speak.

"Have you ever heard of Sirius Black?"

Harry remained thoughtful for an instant, before he replied, "No sir. Should I know him?"

Snape smirked. "He was the one who betrayed your parents and gave them out to the Dark Lord. Until then he was your father's best friend, and your parents even made him your godfather."

"Excuse me sir," Harry threw in in confusion, "why are you telling me this now?"

Snape nodded in understanding and explained, "Because Black was the first person who ever managed to break out of Azkaban. Unfortunately, we... my colleagues and I... believe that he fled from the prison to get back to you for what you did as a baby." Seeing that Harry eyed him with a flabbergasted expression, he reassured him, "He probably won't be able to get into Hogwarts, and you have Osiris to protect you."

During the following ten minutes, he told the child about the Dementors that had been placed all around the Hogwarts grounds and informed him that he would not be allowed to participate in the Hogsmeade visits until Black would be captured.

_'Such nonsense,'_ Harry thought but knew better than to contradict. Merely the weather worsened within seconds. _'I can well defend myself, especially since Black won't even have a wand if he just only got out of Azkaban.'_

Apparently realising that Harry was in a bad mood after his revelations, Snape queried, "Are you feeling up to assisting in the lab for a while?" He quirked an eyebrow, eyeing the boy in concern.

"Of course," Harry replied, simply, and followed his guardian into his private lab.

HP

Even if Harry had not said anything to his guardians, he felt thoroughly annoyed at the thought of not being allowed to go to Hogsmeade together with his friends. _'Yes, I've been to Hogsmeade with Poppy, with Severus and also with McGonagall several times, but going together with my friends is a completely different matter,'_ he thought, angrily, whenever the topic Hogsmeade came up.

Too soon for his liking, the first Hogsmeade weekend approached, and still the Aurors had not been able to catch Sirius Black. During the whole week, and especially on Friday afternoon, everyone excitedly spoke about nothing but their visit to the small town on Saturday, causing Harry to see red. It was late on Friday evening that a heavy thunder shook the castle followed by an unexpected snow storm.

"I hope it'll stop snowing soon, or we won't be able to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow," Hermione said, worriedly, when she packed her books back into her book bag and readied herself for the night.

"I hope so too," Neville agreed, full heartedly.

"Good night Mione," Harry replied, tiredly, before he followed Neville to the boys' dormitory.

"I'm sorry Harry," Neville spoke up, when they let themselves sink into their beds. "Believe me I'd prefer it if you could come with us."

"I know," Harry replied, smiling at his friend.

HP

When the third-years woke up in the morning and looked through the windows in excitement, it had snowed a lot more, however, the house-elves had already made a small path through the high snow that obviously led towards Hogsmeade.

Harry inwardly groaned, as he already felt feverish and sore from the effort of making it snow so much and was not keen on meddling more with the weather for the time being. However, while everyone was sitting in the Great Hall for breakfast, a storm began that did not only destroy the path that the elves had kindly made earlier but was also accompanied by more heavy snow fall and snow drifts.

By the time everyone began to queue in front of the entrance doors in order to leave for Hogsmeade, the teachers decided that it was too dangerous to allow the students out into the tempest and postponed the Hogsmeade visit to the following Saturday.

Inwardly grinning, Harry followed his friends back to Gryffindor, feeling sorry for them for not being able to go to Hogsmeade on the one hand, however, happy that he would not have to remain at the castle all on his own on the other hand. _'The first and second years would have been here anyway,'_ a small voice spoke up from the back of his mind, causing his bad consciousness as well as his headache to intensify. _'Thank Merlin no one knows that it was me who caused the snow storm,'_ he thought in relief, as he made himself comfortable on the sofa in front of the fireplace together with Hermione and Neville.

HP

The Weasley twins, apparently feeling sorry for the disappointed third-years, immediately went to the kitchens for a discussion with the house-elves about a party in the Gryffindor common room.

While the other three houses attended dinner in the Great Hall, the Gryffindors held a party around a huge buffet with butterbeer and all kinds of delicacies, which the house-elves had prepared for them.

In spite of his headache, Harry enjoyed himself and at the same time pondered how to proceed in order to have another Hogsmeade free weekend. _'The two weeks after next there are Quidditch matches, so that gives me a whole month,'_ he thought, happily, after setting up his plan.

To everyone's but Harry's annoyance, it continued to snow for a few more days, before the snow all of a sudden turned into rain, causing not only the Hogwarts grounds but also the nearby town to become completely flooded.

On Saturday morning, no one was able to leave the castle, and the headmaster announced at breakfast that the Hogsmeade visit would once again be postponed to the Saturday in three weeks' time.

_'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought, inwardly grinning, although he also felt sorry for his clearly disappointed friends.

HP

Like on the previous Saturday, the Weasley twins arranged for a huge house party in the Gryffindor common room that greatly improved the mood of their housemates.

Not feeling hungry at all and sensing that the noise and the sticky air in the common did not help his headache, Harry retreated to his dormitory with the intention of taking a cat nap. However, he had just rested his heavy head on the comfortably soft pillow, when Hermione entered the room.

"Hi Harry," she said in a soft voice. "Are you all right?"

"Yes of course," Harry lied, "I'm only tired tonight."

Hermione gave him a sharp look, and her cold hand reached for his own under the covers. "I don't think you're only tired," she said, accusingly. "You feel quite hot to the touch and you don't look well at all." She remained quiet for an instant, before she continued, "Harry, you did that, didn't you?"

"Hmm?" Harry stared at his best friend in confusion, quirking an eyebrow.

"The snow storm and the flooding," Hermione clarified. "That was your doing, wasn't it?"

Inwardly groaning, Harry queried, "Do you know a spell to make it snow or cause a flood?"

"Of course not," Hermione argued, rolling her eyes in apparent exasperation. "But you're able to do it somehow. It's not the first time. I've noticed it before, and that's probably the reason why you're not feeling well. Influencing the weather surely affords a lot of magic, especially if you keep it up for a whole week."

Harry let out a long sigh. _'She's just too clever,'_ he thought in annoyance. Aloud he said, "Please don't tell anyone. Pomfrey knows, but she's the only one and I'd like to keep it like that."

Hermione shook her head in denial. "Of course I won't tell anyone," she replied, indignantly. "You should know by now that I can keep a secret."

"Yes, I know," Harry replied, smiling. "I'm sorry Mione." _'Thank Merlin,'_ he thought and drifted off to an exhausted slumber with a small smile playing on his lips.

HP

In the morning, Harry still did not feel overly well and decided to skip breakfast; however, Hermione dragged her friend to the Great Hall. "First of all it's your own fault, and secondly do you want Professor McGonagall or Madam Pomfrey to come after you because you missed breakfast?" she lectured him in a small voice, while they were waiting for Neville to find his second sock.

"No," Harry replied in determination and obediently followed his friends out of the common room.

He had just made himself comfortable at the table between Hermione and the Weasley twins, when Osiris jumped onto his shoulder handing him a parchment.

#I wouldn't want to be you# the phoenix trilled, giving Harry a pitying look.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. I appreciate them very much!_


	8. Chapter 8

**Whatever the Weather**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_I am only writing for fun. If you don't like my stories, don't read them._**

* * *

Harry hesitantly took the parchment from his familiar and unfolded it.

_'Harry,  
__please come to my office immediately following breakfast.  
__Poppy.'_

_'Oh no,'_ Harry thought, realising that the reason why his guardian wanted to see him did not mean anything good. Not feeling up to eating anything anymore, he stood up and left the Great Hall.

HP

When he arrived in the hospital wing, Pomfrey made him sit on the sofa in her office, before she began to speak in a stern voice.

"Harry," she said, giving him a sharp look. "I didn't say anything last week, however, since you did not finish the spectacle after conjuring the snow storm during the last weekend but again influenced the weather in a way that the Hogsmeade visit had to be cancelled, I must tell you something. I don't appreciate it at all that you use your special abilities in order to prevent innocent students from doing something. It's not your friends' fault that you weren't allowed to participate in the Hogsmeade visit."

"It wasn't my fault either, and it was ridiculous," Harry threw in, feeling very upset.

"Apart from that," Pomfrey continued, completely ignoring his outbreak, "I can't accept that you harm your own health in such a way." Seeing that Harry wanted to speak up again, she held out her hand to stop him and continued, "From now on, you will only influence the weather in such a way if you or anyone else is in danger. Do you understand me?"

"Yes Madame," Harry replied in a small voice. "I'm sorry."

The healer pointed her wand at the boy's head and waved it once, before she told him, "I'm going to keep you here until you're completely well again. Don't do any magic for the time being."

Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I'm fine," he complained. "May I please at least stay in my own room?"

Pomfrey glared at him but relented. She made him drink two potions and ordered him to go straight to bed and rest, grimacing when Harry again rolled his eyes at her words.

HP

_'Thank Merlin that Severus doesn't know that I'm a weather mage,'_ Harry thought, before he drifted off to sleep. _'He would have taken points from Gryffindor and assigned me detention.'_

However, at least during the rest of the school year, no one else found out about his abilities. Harry also kept his word and did not willingly influence the weather to such an extent anymore, at least not during the next two years.

HP

It was a few days before the beginning of the Christmas holidays that Osiris one day addressed Harry wearing a serious expression.

#The rat of the other boy,# the phoenix spoke up, #I think that's not a real rat, and I can sense that it's evil.#

"Scabbers?" Harry asked in surprise. "Ron's rat?"

Osiris confirmed.

"Let's go and speak with Severus then," Harry said in confusion. _'To me it looks like a normal rat though,'_ he thought as he trailed down to the dungeons with the phoenix flying ahead in apparent determination.

To his relief, the Potions Master was in his office, and Harry quickly informed him about his phoenix's suspicions. "To me it looks like a normal garden rat, although it is surprisingly old for that, and it's missing a toe," he ended his explanation, leaving the professor very thoughtful.

"Can you bring the rat here?" he finally queried, turning straight to Osiris. When the bird replied with a comforting trill, the professor leaned into the fireplace and called the headmaster as well as his deputy.

An instant later, Osiris flashed into the room with a small whirlwind and placed a rat on the desk in front of the Potions Master, who did not waste a second to wave his wand and stun the small animal.

In front of Harry's eyes, the rat was forced back to a man and questioned under Veritaserum, before the headmaster called Aurors who took the man with them to the Ministry of Magic.

"Thank you Harry for alerting us to the matter," Snape spoke up after the Aurors had left. "That means that Mr. Black is innocent and you're from now on able to participate in the Hogsmeade visits."

"Thank you so much," Harry replied, feeling incredibly happy at the news. _'Just too bad that there is no Hogsmeade visit before the holidays anymore,'_ he thought, as he returned to the Gryffindor common room together with his familiar.

HP

It was on Christmas morning, when Harry entered the Great Hall together with his guardians, that an unknown man stepped in front of him and introduced himself as Sirius Black.

"I don't know if they told you that but I'm your godfather," Sirius informed him, grinning broadly.

"Yes, Severus told me," Harry replied, slightly apprehensively.

"Anyway, I came to thank you for what you did for me," Black continued. "I'm going to get the guardianship over you, and then you can spend the holidays with me."

"Thank you but no thanks," Harry objected in a firm voice, while the first lightning could be seen through the charmed ceiling of the Great Hall. "Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey are my guardians, and I'm very happy here," he told his godfather. "I don't mind having you as my godfather, but Hogwarts is my home and will always be."

The older wizard laughed. "All right all right Harry. Nevertheless, I want to see you from time to time."

"Okay," Harry agreed, returning the smile that somehow seemed to be contagious.

"Now Sirius come and leave Harry in peace," Professor Lupin suddenly said, pulling his former classmate to the table with him.

Harry slowly followed the two men. "Sirius seems funny," he thought, as the rain outside the castle slowly ebbed away.

HP

During the Christmas holidays, Sirius remained at Hogwarts, which gave Harry the opportunity to get to know the man who had been his father's best friend. A few times, his godfather took him to Hogsmeade, and the two wizards had much fun together. Nevertheless, Harry was glad that Severus and Poppy remained his guardians. _'Sirius is fun, but I wouldn't be able to go to him to ask for help with any problems,'_ he thought after a discussion with Severus about the fight that Harry had with Professor Binns about the goblin wars during their last History of Magic class before the holidays.

To his surprise, on the next day, Sirius told him that the headmaster had suddenly decided to make him the new History of Magic professor, making Harry wonder if the decision had anything to do with his earlier conversation with Severus.

Realising that Sirius had no clue about a lesson plan for the subject, Harry spent the last three days of the holidays helping his godfather, although he secretly would have preferred to assist Severus in his lab.

"Well, it can't hurt learning some more and consecutively getting better grades in History of Magic," Severus said, smirking, when Harry told him about it one evening.

"That's true," Harry grudgingly had to admit.

HP

It was on the last day of the holidays that Sirius told Harry a lot about his parents and did not leave out any opportunity to ridicule Severus as much as possible.

Harry tried hard to not let his godfather show how upset he was, but he could not prevent himself from conjuring a snow storm in order to keep his anger at bay. Finally, he excused himself, saying that he had promised his guardian to help in the lab.

He slowly trailed down to the dungeons, still feeling very distressed, especially since he was annoyed with himself. _'Bad enough that Sirius made me so upset, but did I really have to make it snow so I got a headache on top of it?'_ he thought, inwardly groaning. He toyed with the thought of just going to his room and sleep for a while, however, dismissed the idea, knowing that he would not have much time to assist his guardian once school commenced again.

"Harry," Severus greeted him, smiling, when the boy hesitantly entered his private lab. "Did you come to assist, or is something wrong?" he then asked, taking in his ward's pained expression.

"It's all right, I just got upset about something that Sirius said," Harry replied, dismissively, before he asked, hesitantly, "Could I perhaps get a headache potion?"

With a flick of his wand, the professor cast a stasis charm on the potion that he was just brewing and stepped over to the boy. Suddenly, a cold, slender hand found itself on Harry's forehead.

"Come with me and let me check on you," he instructed the child. "I think it's more than a mere headache."

Inwardly rolling his eyes in annoyance, Harry followed his guardian into the living room, where he was told to sit on the sofa. Snape pointed his wand at Harry's head to take his temperature and cast a diagnostic spell, before he spoke up, thoughtfully.

"I can't find anything wrong apart from your headache, which is quite bad, and a slight temperature," he said, questioningly. "Would you care to explain what you've been doing this morning?"

"I was very upset about Sirius," Harry admitted, causing the older wizard to quirk an eyebrow in silent question. He let out a long sigh, knowing that it was time to inform his guardian about his special ability. "I'm a weather mage," he confessed in a small voice, "and when I'm very angry like earlier, I change the weather in order to vent, but I usually get headaches and fevers because it affords more magic than my body can handle, at least that's what Poppy explained to me."

"You can influence the weather?" Severus repeated in apparent disbelief.

"Yes sir, I've known about this since I was very small, and I've practised a lot, while I was at the Dursleys'," Harry admitted. "However, so far no one but Poppy and Hermione know about it, and I'd like to keep it at that," he added, casting his guardian a pleading look.

"I fully agree," the Potions Master said, pensively. "If the headmaster or the Minister of Magic got to know about it, they'd surely want to use you for their own purposes." He remained thoughtful for an instant, before adding, "Thank you for letting me in on the secret, Harry. I appreciate it."

"I'm a murderer though," Harry admitted in a barely audible voice. "I killed Professor Quirrell and also the people who murdered the Dursleys."

The Potions Master shook his head and contradicted, "No Harry, in Professor Quirrell's case it was pure self defence. If you hadn't got rid of him, he might have killed you, and apparently you vanquished the Dark Lord at the same time. Too bad that no one must know that it was you. You'd surely have received the Order of Merlin first class for it."

"Thank Merlin no one knows," Harry threw in, sighing.

"That means that you're able to conjure lightning and make it struck where you want it?" Severus suddenly remembered to ask, seemingly shocked and impressed at the same time.

"It's not as if I was using it just for fun," Harry replied, feeling his headache worsen again.

"That I know Harry. You're not evil, and I trust you to use your ability wisely. Now do you feel well enough to assist in the lab?"

Harry merely smiled and nodded, feeling very much reassured by the older wizard's reaction.

HP

Unbeknownst to Harry, during the following months, the Potions Master closely watched him as well as the weather, however, nothing out of the normal occurred, and apart from the occasional shower, Harry was well able to keep control over his power.

It was only two years later, just a week before the beginning of the OWL exams, that something extraordinary happened that almost made Harry's abilities known all over the magical world.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind readers who took the time to feed my muse with a review. And of course thanks to my Facebook friends for their continuous support!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Whatever the Weather**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_I am only writing for fun. If you don't like my stories, don't read them._**

* * *

The fifth-years were really busy with the preparation for their OWLs, and observing Harry and his friends study until late in the evenings, Pomfrey complained vehemently to her colleagues that the students were in dire need of fresh air. Therefore, the teachers decided to have another Hogsmeade visit nine days before the beginning of the test week.

_'Hermione surely won't skip studying and go to Hogsmeade with me,'_ Harry thought when he first heard about the plan, however, to his surprise, the girl eagerly agreed to go on a date with him.

HP

On Saturday morning, Severus Snape was sitting at the high table, listening to his colleagues' babbling in amusement. The other three heads of house along with the headmaster and Poppy were making a bet if the dream trio - Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom - were going to spend the day visiting Hogsmeade today. While Minerva guessed that they'd all go to Hogsmeade, Poppy speculated that Harry and Hermione would go on a date as would Neville and Luna, Pomona thought they'd all remain at Hogwarts and study, while Filius confirmed they'd surely go but come back early to study. Severus grinned, already having heard from Harry about his date with Hermione, when Rolanda voiced that it was possible that Harry rather wanted to hold a Quidditch practice to make his team practise for the match versus the teachers in two weeks' time. _'Surely not,'_ he thought, rolling his eyes in disbelief. However, he looked up, startled, when Sybil announced that only Neville would leave the Hogwarts grounds on that day.

"The one with the power unknown shall master the flora and vanquish the dark pretender when the fabric of time is right and his companion unites with the illuminated," she breathed in a strange voice, causing her colleagues to stare at her in concern.

_'That sounded like a prophecy,'_ Severus thought in surprise, glancing at the headmaster. _'It's fairly easy to understand though,'_ he mused, looking up, startled, when the post owls swept into the Great Hall. His sharp eyes did not miss that Malfoy senior's owl brought a letter for Draco. He waited until the boy had read the attached parchment, before he telepathically contacted his godson.

'Draco, does this letter have anything to do with an attack on our students?' he queried. Inwardly groaning did he realise that Draco not only turned to him but also unobtrusively nodded. 'Today?' he asked again, causing the boy to give him a sharp nod.

Severus let out a long sigh, before he telepathically informed his ward, 'You must not participate in the Hogsmeade visit today.' Immediately noticing how the light vanished from the Great Hall, as the blue sky was replaced by dark clouds, he rose from his chair and strode behind the Gryffindor table.

"Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter, please accompany me to my office for a moment," he addressed the two fifth-years, relieved that the girl immediately pulled Harry with her to follow him.

HP

Harry had to try hard to keep his anger at bay. When they strode towards the dungeons, the first thunder could be heard out on the grounds.

"What happened?" Hermione asked in confusion. "Don't make yourself so upset Harry. You'll only make yourself sick again."

"I have no idea," Harry replied, feeling extremely upset.

However, only when they entered the professor's office, the professor began to speak.

"Mr. Malfoy plans to attack Hogsmeade today, and since you're his number one target, I wish you to remain here today. Instead, I can offer to take you to the village tomorrow if you insist on gallivanting through Hogsmeade instead of spending your valuable time studying," the Potions Master informed them, quirking an eyebrow.

"All right sir," Hermione immediately agreed, causing Harry to cast her a surprised look.

"What about Neville and Luna then?" Harry queried. "Will they be allowed to go together with us tomorrow?"

"No Harry," the professor replied in a firm voice. "Do I need to put you into a body bind, or will you be able to listen and obey without making it snow in summer?"

Harry groaned and replied, "Yes sir, it's all right sir. Sorry Mione."

HP

The two fifth-years were just about to leave the office, when Draco Malfoy came to see his godfather.

"Stay for a moment," he instructed Harry, before he handed the professor a parchment.

Observing his guardian in confusion, Harry noticed how his eyes widened, before he spoke up.

"Mr. Malfoy senior is going to attack Hogwarts, while everyone has gone to Hogsmeade," he informed the students, causing Harry to nod in determination.

"Thanks Draco for informing us," he spoke up in a firm voice. "I'm going to remain at Hogwarts and fight him. Draco, you go to Hogsmeade. Don't let him know that you're on our side," he added, sincerely.

"Yes Draco, I believe that would be for the best," Severus agreed and motioned the boy to leave, before he turned to the students and informed them about the prophecy that Professor Trelawney had uttered at the breakfast table.

"It's all right sir. I know what to do," Harry replied, grimly. "Can you please instruct your colleagues who're not going to Hogsmeade to remain inside the castle and ward the entrance doors? Let's get rid of Malfoy on the grounds."

"And you're going to go out onto the grounds just by yourself?" Hermione blurted out, seemingly horrified. "No way."

"No," the Potions Master agreed in a firm voice.

"I won't go out either," Harry replied, smiling. "I only need a large, charmed window with the view all over the grounds."

"The best view we have is from the charmed window in the staff room," Severus said, thoughtfully. "Let's go and speak with Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall. I'm sorry Harry, but we need to tell them that you're a weather mage. They won't just stand by quietly and wonder what you're doing."

"Dumbledore would," Harry replied in a barely audible voice, "but McGonagall probably wouldn't."

"Harry, I know that you don't believe it, but Professor Dumbledore also cares about you," the Potions Master said in a bored voice, causing the boy to let out a snort.

HP

An hour later, Harry and Hermione were together with the headmaster, his deputy and Harry's guardians, staring out onto the grounds through the charmed window in the staff room, when all of a sudden, Lucius Malfoy came into view.

"It begins," Severus announced, giving Harry a questioning look.

Harry immediately rose from his chair and addressed the professors. "Please keep away from the window and stay out of my way, whatever I do," he instructed them, giving his guardians a grateful look, when they ushered Dumbledore and McGonagall back to their seats.

Harry looked up towards the sky that had been covered with dark clouds ever since Harry had been instructed to not go to Hogsmeade. An instant later, a strong wind came up in addition to the heavy rain, and the observers could notice a tornado build up right in front of the Shrieking Shack.

"Oh Merlin," McGonagall blurted out, seemingly horrified.

However, Poppy instructed her to keep quiet in a hushed voice. "Harry knows what he's doing," she whispered, "but he needs to concentrate."

The tornado struck and released the Whomping Willow from its roots.

While some of the Death Eaters fled from the flood-like rain, seeking shelter under the trees in the first row of the Forbidden Forest, Malfoy along with a couple of friends continued striding towards the heavily warded castle. However, his Death Eater friends except for two men equally ran away when a huge tree was whirled over the grounds. Hovering in the air right over Malfoy, the branches of the Whomping Willow reached out to the dark wizard, kicking him to the ground. The two men tried to save their master, throwing themselves between him and the unmerciful tree that began to kick forth and back with its moving branches.

After a few minutes of a stupor, during which the storm ended as abruptly as it had begun and the rain stopped, the Whomping Willow was whisked into the air once more and returned to its roots, where a soft, warm breeze engulfed it as it reconnected to its usual spot in the earth.

HP

At the same time, Harry collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

While the Potions Master followed the headmaster to his office to call the Aurors to dispose of the three obviously badly injured attackers, the healer waved her wand over Harry, before she conjured a stretcher and took the boy with her, accompanied by her friend and her student.

"Will Harry be all right?" Hermione finally blurted out, when Poppy placed him into the bed in his own room.

"Sure dear," the healer replied in a soothing voice. "He has merely depleted his magic to a great extent. After a few days of rest, he'll be right as rain."

HP

When Harry's mind returned to awareness, Hermione was sitting on the edge of his bed, reading her notes.

"Mione," Harry whispered, reaching for her hand. "What happened?"

Hermione smiled. "Thank Merlin that you're awake. I was so worried. You got rid of Malfoy and two of his Death Eaters. They've been taken to Azkaban and have already been kissed," she replied to his question.

"Thank Merlin," Harry repeated, sighing in relief.

HP

Pomfrey kept Harry in his own room for the complete week until the beginning of the OWLs, however, allowed Hermione to keep him company at all times, so that the two fifth-years could quietly study together for the exams.

At first, Harry felt completely annoyed by his guardian's over-protectiveness, however, after hearing from his other guardian that it was partly to keep the headmaster and especially the Minister of Magic away from Harry, he felt extremely grateful towards the thoughtful healer.

HP

It was only on the day after the last OWL exam that Pomfrey allowed the headmaster to call Harry into his office for a conversation with the Minister of Magic.

_'Oh no, what does he want now?'_ Harry thought in annoyance, as he gave the gargoyle the headmaster's new password, "Weather magic."

"Hello my boy, how nice of you to visit me on this fine morning," Dumbledore greeted him with apparent enthusiasm, before he offered him a lemon drop, which Harry politely declined and instead exchanged a greeting with Fawkes and proceeded to pet the phoenix's head feathers.

Only when Dumbledore ushered him to a seat in front of his desk did Harry realise that Minister Fudge was also present.

"Good morning Minister," he greeted the man, before he lowered himself into the offered seat.

"Mr. Potter," the Minister began to come straight to the point. "First of all, I wish to thank you for helping us to get rid of the Dark Lord and some of his followers." Seeing that Harry merely nodded, he continued, "and secondly, I herewith offer you the position as my assistant at the Ministry of Magic."

"What?" Harry blurted out, having to force himself to not jump from his chair. "No thank you sir," he replied quickly.

"You don't have to decide this right away my boy," Dumbledore threw in, calmly.

"With you at my side, our Ministry would be very powerful and could even support the British Muggle government when the need arose, which would greatly help the connections between the British magical and Muggle worlds," Fudge explained, eagerly.

"Where was the Ministry of Magic let alone the British government, when I was neglected and abused by my relatives, sir?" Harry asked sharply, before he replied in a firm voice, "No one cared about giving me a proper home. Now Hogwarts is my home, and I'm not going to willingly leave it."

However, the Minister of Magic was not finished with his argumentation, and strangely, Harry had the impression as if the headmaster was on the Minister's side. _'I wonder why? Not that I really care,'_ he mused, as he listened to Fudge's explanations.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind readers who commented on the previous chapter. I appreciate it very much._


	10. Chapter 10

**Whatever the Weather**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_I am only writing for fun. If you don't like my stories, don't read them._**

* * *

**_A.N. _**

**_If you don't like this chapter, I will end this story after the previous chapter and continue this only on facebook._**

**_I am sick of the people who try to take away a writer's fun of writing by critizing everything. I am not a child. I have more than fifty years of life experience, and I spent so many years at university having to be careful of what I write to take my doctor's degree, so that now I just enjoy to be able to write fanfiction the way I WANT to write. I have no interest in the babblings of know-it-all arrogant young people who should make their own life experiences before criticizing others. Please read the warnings in the summary: AU means Alternate Universe = different from canon! I know all the Harry Potter books by heart, but I love to change the "facts" according to my plots. If you don't like my stories, don't read them and leave me in peace._**

* * *

"Mr. Potter, have you ever heard of the Department of Magical Mysteries within the Ministry?" Fudge enquired, looking at the boy in expectation.

"No sir," Harry replied in surprise.

"All right now there is such a department," Fudge continued and explained that said department had found out about the existence of another dimension two years ago. Only recently, they had been able to develop a communication system and had been in contact with the Ministry of Magic in the other dimension for a few weeks.

_'Why is he telling me that, and what is another dimension?'_ Harry wondered, looking at the Minister with interest, when the older wizard continued.

"In the other dimension, there are about the same people as in our world, however, during the course of time, some things have developed differently. Why I am explaining this to you," he said, noticing Harry's curious expression, "is because we need your help."

"Excuse me sir," Harry replied in confusion, trailing off when the Minister raised his hand to stop him.

"While in our dimension, the magical and the Muggle world peacefully co-exist, in the other dimension, wizards and witches are being hunted and openly burned by the Muggles like it has been the case here in the Middle Ages," Fudge explained. "Therefore, our employees in the Department of Magical Mysteries are working on some kind of portal, which enables the witches and wizards to transfer to this dimension. We would like to have everyone transferred within the next few years. However, as you might be able to imagine, this transfer goes along with multiple problems. Apart from putting up such a portal or any other kind of transportation method, one big problem is that whilst all dark lords are gone in this dimension, there are some left in the other dimension, three if I'm informed correctly."

"Excuse me sir," Harry threw in, confused, "but what does this have to do with me?"

Dumbledore cleared his throat, before he replied on the Minister's behalf, "Harry, as of now, you're the most powerful person in this dimension, and you being a weather mage would allow us to get rid of all evil persons in a fairly simple way."

"Yes, because I can do the dirty work feeling like a murderer then, while everyone else can be happy," Harry responded, feeling very upset.

"Well Mr. Potter, maybe it'll look different if I tell you that one of the dark lords' names is Harry Potter," the Minister said in a sharp voice.

"Is that my fault?" Harry queried, as the first rain drops began to patter against the windows.

"Not at all Harry, not at all," Dumbledore reassured him, calmingly.

"According to my colleagues, who did some research in this area, it is possible that as a weather mage you might be able to access the other dimension and perhaps assist our employees finding a way to evacuate the wizards and witches from there," the Minister continued to speak. "Therefore, I'd like you to speak with my employees from the Department of Magical Mysteries and if possible to become my assistant, as the whole procedure is going to take years, and I'd like to have you as coordinator for the matter."

_'As coordinator for fetching all witches and wizards from another dimension?'_ Harry thought in confusion. _'How would I even be able to travel to the other dimension?'_ He looked from the minister to the headmaster, uncertainly.

"I understand that I might be able to assist," he spoke up, thoughtfully. "However, I'd prefer to finish my Hogwarts education first. Apart from that, what would I have to do as the coordinator for the event?"

"You would have to fetch all persons to this dimension one by one and help them find a place to live and possibly to work," the Minister replied, eagerly. "You would have to try unite them with their respective counter part of this dimension..."

"Harry," Dumbledore interrupted the Minister. "I'm sure that many wizards and witches would gladly help their other selves. For example, if the Weasleys worked all together, they'd surely be able to enlarge their house for all of them to live together or to just build a second house next to it. However, since they're not able to communicate with their other selves before their other selves arrive here, they need a coordinator."

Harry remained thoughtful for a moment, looking up startled, when Professor McGonagall stuck her head through the door. "Harry, are you not going to play Quidditch?" she queried. "The match is going to commence in fifteen minutes."

"Ah, yes of course," Harry replied and rose from his chair. "I'm sorry, Headmaster, Minister. Please let me think about the matter." Seeing the older wizards nod their agreement, he hurried behind his head of house, deep in thoughts. _'So McGonagall and Severus and everyone will be here twice?'_ he thought, _'and my other self is evil, so I have to kill him or what?'_

HP

Deep in thoughts about his earlier conversation with the headmaster and the minister, Harry feverishly searched for the Snitch, determined to win the match versus the teachers.

_'I need someone in the other world to help me,'_ he thought. _'No one will listen to me if my other self is so bad.'_ Suddenly, he spotted the Snitch and realised, horrified, that Severus, who was the Seeker of the teachers' team, was flying right in the direction of where he Snitch was hovering. He sped up and dashed behind his guardian, noticing in relief that the older wizard apparently had not seen the Snitch. _'I'll speak with him and Poppy and ask them for advice,_' he resolved, when he laid his fingers around the small, struggling ball in a firm grip.

"Congratulations students, the students win," Arthur Weasley, who had been refereeing the game, announced, followed by deafening applause coming from the students' stands.

HP

Right after the match, Harry motioned Hermione to accompany him and asked his guardians if they had time for him.

"Of course. Let's sit in my office and have tea in case I'm needed," Poppy suggested, gently.

During the following minutes, Harry explained to his best friend and his guardians about his conversation with the minister. "I don't know what to do," he finally said. "On the one hand, I want to help, but on the other hand, Hogwarts is my home and I don't want to leave it. Plus I'm unsure if I'm in a position to help anyone anyway."

"Harry, you can always remain at Hogwarts, for example as Poppy's or my assistant," Severus was the first to speak up. "Even if you wish to assist the ministry, which probably would be reasonable considering your unique abilities, you can do this while residing at Hogwarts."

"Exactly," Poppy agreed. "You should finish your NEWTs in any case, so the ministry has to content itself if you only do something during the holidays or perhaps in the weekends."

"Do you have an idea how you'd be able to travel to the alternate universe at all?" Hermione threw in, giving him a sharp look. "If you figure out how to do that and how to take people with you, one of us could accompany you, at least the first time until the Hogwarts staff gets to know you and realises that you're not evil."

"Yes, that's a good idea," Harry agreed.

"Harry, let me have a conversation with the headmaster about the matter," Severus promised, thoughtfully.

"Thank you sir," Harry replied, feeling very much reassured by his guardians' and best friend's kind support.

HP

During the first week of the summer holidays, Harry received an invitation to the Ministry of Magic. To his surprise, it was not Minister Fudge who introduced him to the Department of Magical Mysteries but Mr. Weasley, whom he had met a few times before, as he was not only the referee for the Quidditch matches students versus teachers but also the father of Ginny and the twins, with whom he was good friends.

"I've been selected to help you with this quest, provided that you're willing to support the case," the redhead began to explain on their way through the Ministry, "because our colleagues have found out that Minister Fudge is not alive anymore in the other dimension and that instead I am the Minister of Magic."

"Oh all right," Harry replied, smiling as he thought, _'That's good. I really don't like Fudge.'_ He let out a sigh, before he replied, "I will assist with this case, however, I wish to remain at Hogwarts and continue my studies at the same time."

"Any help will be welcome, Harry," Mr. Weasley replied, gently, giving him an appreciative nod.

HP

Harry's visit to the Department of Magical Mysteries was very interesting. None of the people in the department were introduced to him by their names, and it was explained that they had to remain incognito for their own safety.

"Let's show you our newest toy," one of them said and led Harry to a table in the middle of the large room.

On the table, there was a large globe, which they had to tap with their wand in order to establish a connection to the other dimension. It took a minute for the connection to activate, and Harry noticed in surprise how they could see several people inside the globe. Most of them were the other selves of the ministry employees who surrounded him.

"Hello," the person who had established the connection addressed their counter parts in the other dimension. "I'd like to introduce Harry Potter to you. He might be able to help evacuating you, and - provided that he agrees - he will be the coordinator for the whole campaign."

"Harry Potter?" one of the others queried in apparent shock. "Don't misunderstand us but we don't work together with people who run around and kill others. At least from the Muggle authorities we can try to hide, but not from Dark Lords and Death Eaters."

"Nonsense," the person next to Harry replied. "Our Harry Potter is not evil. On the contrary, he has got rid of Voldemort and of Lucius Malfoy, the two Dark Lords here in our dimension. He even received the Order of Merlin first class for it."

Harry looked at the older wizard in surprise. _'The Order of Merlin first class?'_ he wondered. _'That must be a mistake.'_ However, he knew better than to correct the man.

"Here, speak to them," he was told.

"Hello," he hesitantly addressed the people in the globe. "I'm Harry. The people here believe that I might help you because I'm a weather mage and might be able to also influence other parts of the universe including planets or dimensions. I don't know yet if it'll work, but I'll try to travel to your dimension, provided that I'll receive your full support, because I'm afraid what might happen if people mistake me for my other, evil self in your world."

"Hello Harry," someone who Harry recognised as Mr. Weasley replied in a kind voice. "First of all thank you very much for your offer to help us, and of course we promise that you'll have our full support. If you come here, we'll have a couple of Aurors accompany you to ensure your safety."

HP

Harry and the ministry employees from both dimensions spent the whole afternoon discussing how to proceed provided that Harry would manage to travel. In the end, they agreed that Harry should make his attempt while being in the Department of Magical Mysteries so that he'd arrive at the same place in the other dimension. Harry promised to think about how to accomplish the travel and to come back to the ministry for the first attempt on Monday morning.

HP

Back at Hogwarts, Harry could not help feeling very excited in anticipation, however, slightly anxious on the other hand.

"My boy, you should let Mr. Weasley take you to Hogwarts," Dumbledore suggested at dinner on Sunday evening. "I don't know who of us will be here and in which position, but I assume that at least some of us will be here, and they will surely support you if Mr. Weasley explains that you're not the Harry Potter whom they know. Before you leave tomorrow morning, I'll give you a letter that you can hand to any teacher at Hogwarts in order to receive their support."

"Thank you very much sir," Harry replied, gratefully. "I don't even know if I'll be able to travel there at all," he added. "I've done a few experiments reaching out for other planets, and I think it might work out, but I'm not sure of course."

HP

By the time Harry readied himself to take the Floo to the Ministry right after breakfast on Monday, his robe pockets contained a letter from Professor Dumbledore to the complete Hogwarts staff, letters from Snape, McGonagall, Lupin and Pomfrey to their other selves and several shrunken potions phials that he would need in case he used too much magic as well as the Marauders map, which might or might not work in the other dimension.

"Take care of yourself and come back tomorrow, no matter how late," Pomfrey instructed him in a no-nonsense voice.

"If you bring people here, we can always accommodate them at Hogwarts for a while," Dumbledore promised.

"Be careful," McGonagall advised him, uncharacteristically pulling him into a hug.

"I will," Harry replied, inwardly rolling his eyes at the over-protective adults. With that he stepped into the fireplace, shouting, "Department of Magical Mysteries."

_tbc... (?)_


	11. Chapter 11

**Whatever the Weather**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_I am only writing for fun. If you don't like my stories, don't read them._**

* * *

When Harry arrived at the Department of Magical Mysteries, the employees were already waiting for him in apparent excitement.

"We'll establish the connection now, so please try if you'll be able to travel to the other dimension," he was told.

Before Harry could reply affirmatively, Osiris appeared in a small whirlwind and made himself comfortable on the boy's shoulder.

#You can do it Harry. I'll meet you there,# the phoenix trilled, pleasantly, causing everyone to admire the beautiful bird in obvious amazement.

_'Oh right, as a weather phoenix he's able to travel through the universe, too. I didn't even think of that. All right I need to concentrate,'_ Harry thought, pushing the sudden idea that Osiris could just take him with him from the front of his mind. He summoned his magic and led it to a point far away at the back of his mind, where he could sense another universe. Thinking _'All right'_ to Osiris, he stepped over into the other dimension, finding himself back to where he had left.

**_IN THE OTHER DIMENSION_**

"Harry, you did it!"

"Harry!"

"Welcome in our world!" the ministry employees, with whom he had talked in the globe before, greeted him in a friendly way.

_'They're not different from those in my own dimension,'_ Harry thought and looked up in relief, when he saw Mr. Weasley come over to him.

"Hello Mr. Weasley," he said, smiling at this dimension's Minister of Magic.

"Hello Harry," Mr. Weasley replied as kindly as he had always been in Harry's dimension. "I see you managed to travel through the dimensions. Congratulations."

"Thank you sir," Harry responded, smiling.

"We have to thank you for coming here to try to help us," Mr. Weasley contradicted. "During the weekend, I have contacted Professor McGonagall." He interrupted himself, giving Harry a questioning look. "I suppose that you know the headmistress of Hogwarts."

"Yes sir," Harry confirmed, staring at the older wizard in surprise. "I didn't know that she was headmistress here though. Where's Professor Dumbledore in this dimension?"

"Albus Dumbledore?" Mr. Weasley queried, letting out a long sigh. "He was Hogwarts' headmaster until a few years ago. Unfortunately, he was found out to be a wizard and was killed by the Muggles."

"Oh no," Harry said, horrified. "Did they find many wizards and witches?"

"About thirty by now," Weasley replied in a grave voice, leading Harry to the fireplace. Just when the older wizard queried if Harry was comfortable enough to go ahead, Osiris made his appearance accompanied by a small whirlwind, causing Harry to sigh in relief.

"This is Osiris, my phoenix," he explained. "He can just flash us to Hogwarts." When Mr. Weasley voiced his agreement, he instructed the phoenix to take them to Hogwarts in this dimension.

HP

A few minutes later, Harry followed the Minister of Magic into the headmistress' office, curiously glancing around. The room looked pretty much like in his own dimension, apart from the fact that the many glass devices were missing from the shelves. He was brought back to reality, when McGonagall addressed him in a kind voice.

"Hello Harry. Welcome to Hogwarts in this dimension. We're all happy to see you."

"Thank you Professor," Harry replied, somehow having the impression as if she was slightly more reserved towards him than in his own dimension. He curiously glanced around, noticing in surprise that the teachers who were assembled in the office slightly varied from his own dimension. He quickly pulled the letters out of his robe pocket and handed them to their specific receivers.

"Do you know everyone here?" McGonagall asked, gently, apparently noticing his surprised expression.

"I know Poppy of course and Madam Hooch, Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick and ... Sirius and Remus," he blurted out in surprise, giving the unknown professor a questioning look.

"Don't tell me you don't know me," the female professor blurted out, staring at him in disbelief.

"Mum?" Harry queried, recognising the woman from the photos which Hagrid had given him at the end of his first Hogwarts year.

"Yes, I'm Lily Potter," the witch replied, seemingly horrified. "What happened that you don't know me?" she then queried.

"Voldemort killed you and Dad when I was a year old," Harry explained, trying hard to not flinch back when his mother pulled him into a bear's hug.

"You've become a wonderful young man," Lily said, smiling. "So unlike my son in this dimension. He was abducted by Voldemort when he was a year old and was raised to become a dark lord. Fortunately, Voldemort is gone now, but Harry is horrible. He and his friend Ronald Weasley," she said, glancing at the minister, "they've become the new dark lords. They don't even attend classes anymore."

_'Perhaps I should just leave those two in this dimension,'_ Harry resolved. Seeing that his mother seemed to be on the verge of tears, he efficiently changed the topic by asking, "Is Professor Snape not the Potions professor in this dimension?"

"No Harry," McGonagall replied, sounding sad. "A few years ago, he had a Potions accident, which he unfortunately did not survive. Your mother is now the Potions Mistress and Potions Professor here."

HP

Seeing that Harry's conversation with the professors went well, Mr. Weasley returned to the Ministry of Magic, not without reassuring Harry that he would always be available if Harry needed him.

Harry spent the whole day conferring with the teachers. Together, they set up a plan, whom Harry should take with him to his own dimension first. Finally, Harry was instructed to find out if he could only take one person with him or more and how often he would be able to travel without using too much magic.

"Remember that your own health has the highest priority, and after travelling you must come to me or my other self and let me check on you," Poppy told him in a firm voice.

Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance, before he informed the old witch that she was his guardian in his own dimension, making her nod contentedly.

"Then you're in good hands," she said, smiling.

In the end, the teachers made the decision that Harry should first transfer all Hogwarts teachers and students, if possible during the remaining weeks of the holidays. Professor McGonagall would remain to accompany Harry to the witches and wizards who were to be transferred next.

_'Thank Merlin, otherwise I could really get problems, considering that everyone here knows me only as an evil wizard,'_ Harry thought in relief, giving the headmistress a grateful look.

The professors decided that Harry should take his mother with him and come back as soon as he could, if possible in the morning, to begin transferring the students.

While Lily returned to her quarters to shrink her belongings in order to take them with her, all the teachers made a fuss giving him advice like they had already done in Harry's own dimension. Finally, McGonagall instructed the boy, "Harry, please speak with my other self, tell her about our staff and their respective positions and let her make a plan how to efficiently integrate all of us into the Hogwarts staff."

"All right Professor," Harry promised, smiling, before he gripped Lily's arm and concentrated on travelling home with his mother in tow.

**_HARRY'S DIMENSION_**

Harry and Lily reappeared right in the headmaster's office, where just like in the other dimension all the professors were assembled, apparently waiting for the boy.

A multiple, enthusiastic shout "Lily!" greeted them, causing Lily to smile.

"Hello everyone. I already heard from Harry that my other self in this dimension has been killed many years ago," she said, turning to the Potions Master. "Severus, I'm so glad to see you alive and well here. It was so horrible..." She slowly trailed off.

Apparently noticing that tears welled in her eyes, Severus allowed a rare smile onto his face and gently laid a calming hand on her arm and said, "Welcome Lily. I'm more than happy to have you here."

During the following hours, Lily told the professors everything about her life, how Voldemort had taken Harry, how James had been killed by Death Eaters, and also about Severus' Potions accident and that she had become his successor at Hogwarts.

"Well, the Potions position I can't offer to you," Dumbledore spoke up, gently. "However, I know for a fact that Filius would like to retire," he continued, glancing at the Charms professor, who nodded eagerly, "and I'd like you to become our Charms professor and Ravenclaw head if that's what you wish."

"No," the Potions Master spoke up in a firm voice. "The amount of students is going to increase to the double, isn't it?" When the headmaster nodded, he continued, "I won't be able to make enough potions for so many students while teaching classes with so many students at the same time. I suggest that Lily becomes the Potions professor, while I remain the Potions Master and head of Slytherin."

"Yes, that makes sense," Dumbledore agreed, thoughtfully. "Lily, would you like to teach Potions?"

"Thank you very much for your kind offer, Headmaster," Lily replied, smiling, "which I gladly accept."

Suddenly, Harry remembered what Professor McGonagall in the other dimension had asked of him and informed the teachers.

"This is insofar difficult, as we don't have any open positions right now apart from the Charms post," Dumbledore replied, thoughtfully stroking his beard. "Considering the second Minerva, I suggest that she becomes my Minerva's successor as Transfiguration professor and Gryffindor Head, while I'd like my Minerva to become the new headmistress." He let out a sigh and added, "The two of you will need to do something about your names though."

"And you, Albus?" McGonagall asked, sharply. "Are you going to retire?"

"Yes my dear," the headmaster replied, smiling. "I believe that I'm old enough to make some space here. As to the other professors from the other dimension," he continued, pensively, "We could of course make Professor Binns retire, so that Mr. Black or Mr. Lupin could take his position, and the other could teach Charms."

"Albus," Professor Sprout suddenly spoke up. "Would it be possible to share my position with my other self? It would be a great relief if one of us was solely responsible for the greenhouses and the other for teaching, especially if we're going to have twice the amount of students."

"Of course Pomona," the headmaster replied gently and promised to remain at Hogwarts as assistant to all the teachers who might have problems due to the sudden increase of students. "Poppy will of course assist Poppy, considering that her work load is going to double."

Harry tuned out the rest of the conversation. He could not believe his luck. _'My mum is alive and going to live at Hogwarts now,'_ he thought, feeling incredibly happy. 'Maybe I'll be able to stay with her during the holidays, although Severus and Poppy are really great guardians.'

Unbeknownst to the boy, his guardian was nursing similar thoughts.

HP

Severus' thoughts went haywire. _'Lily is alive!'_ The thought continued to push itself to the forefront of his mind. _'Potter and my other self don't exist anymore in the other dimension.'_ He still could not believe his luck, especially after realising that Lily was going to remain at Hogwarts and share his position with him. He felt happier than he had ever been after his fifth Hogwarts year. _'And I'm not going to make the same mistake again,' _he resolved in determination.

He absentmindedly registered that Poppy sent Harry to bed and that Dumbledore ordered his house-elf to make teacher's quarters for Lily next to his own, before his colleagues retired from the headmaster's office.

"Lily," he heard himself speak up without even pondering the matter. "Will you join me for a glass of wine in my quarters?" he invited his former best friend in his soft, baritone voice that she could barely resist.

"I'd love that," Lily replied with a smile playing on her lips.

Severus led his former classmate and new colleague into his quarters, where they quickly looked in on Harry, however, the boy was already fast asleep.

"Thank you so much for taking Harry in," Lily said, gratefully. "He has become an amazing young man."

"Unfortunately, I was only able to become his guardian together with Poppy, when he came to Hogwarts," Severus explained, sighing, and told his friend about Harry's upbringing with the Dursleys.

Lily's eyes narrowed, and her happy expression changed to one that clearly told Severus that she was ready to kill someone.

"I'm going to get back at Petunia," she said in determination, heading for the door.

"Lily, stay," Severus replied in a firm voice. "Others have already seen to that. The Dursleys are no more."

The two friends spent half of the night talking about the differences between the two dimensions, before Severus finally summoned his courage and asked what he had already wanted to ask since he met Lily a few hours ago.

"Lily, will you become my wife?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your king reviews. _

_From now on, my updates might take a bit longer than usual, since I have begun to write my own book, and I am very happy about this and spending much time planning and writing the book. Sorry for that..._


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